


The Story of Tonight

by josiepug



Category: Hamilton - Miranda, The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Gen, M/M, UST
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-18
Updated: 2016-07-07
Packaged: 2018-06-02 22:50:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6585787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/josiepug/pseuds/josiepug
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a Hamilton/Newsroom AU!</p><p>Aaron Burr is a very successful news anchor. He is very successful because he's very good at not offending anyone too much. Until one day he isn't. That's when everything goes to hell. It's probably Theodosia's fault.</p><p>Alexander Hamilton has been brought by Theodosia to work on the production team for The Story of Tonight news show. That team includes one Eliza Schuyler and one John Laurens. That's just the beginning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> You know what is a bad idea? Throwing Aaron Sorkin's plots into a blender with Lin-Manuel Miranda's characters and thinking you can somehow make that work. You know what I did? That.
> 
> This story is completely written (not completely edited), so updates should be regular.
> 
> Enjoy!

Aaron Burr watched as Thomas Jefferson leaned back in his chair, the ever sloppier posture a sure sign that he was becoming incensed. The audience of mostly hungover college students had no idea what was coming to them. Burr was just glad not to be the direct recipient of Jefferson’s strangely laid back ire as the man began to speak. “I think we can all agree that Angelica Schuyler is a beautiful, intelligent and passionate woman, but she could stand to realise a few things about America. America belongs to the individual and owes its strength to helping the individual achieve his—“

“Um, excuse me.” Angelica, sitting next to Burr and across the stage from Jefferson, tossed her hair defiantly. Burr found himself leaning back slightly. “Did you just classify the American individual as a ‘he’? The default of this country is not male and if you—“

“For Heaven’s sake, Ms. Schuyler. It was a slip of the tongue. You’re sidestepping—“

“I am not sidestepping the point! That is the point, Mr. Jefferson. America is not homogenous, is not a he or a she. America is an ever-shifting composite of people and ideals. To assume that you can create policy by broad strokes that protect individual rights without addressing the mass concerns of these differing composites of people—“

“That is not the government’s job! The federal government does not regulate the little ‘clubs’ of America. That is for the individual—“

“Clubs! We’re not in high school, Mr. Jefferson. Or at least I’m not. The concerns of groups—“

“Did Ms. Schuyler actually just insinuate that I’m so juvenile—“

“Mr. Jefferson, Ms. Schuyler, please.” The moderator tried desperately to rein them in, sweat beading on his forehead. Burr might have laughed if he hadn’t felt like he had somehow unwillingly become the no man’s land in a nuclear war zone. He found himself shrinking into his chair as much as possible and trying desperately to think calm thoughts, maybe rub off a bit on the people to either side of him, who did not even seem to be breathing during their outbursts.

Angelica waved her hand so violently that Burr actually had to duck. Even the college students were waking up. “You know what, Mr. Jefferson, forget the interests of minority groups in this country for a second, not that that should be difficult for you.”

“I—“

“No, forget it. We’re here to talk about federal government as a whole. You claim to be all about individual freedom, but who’s going to protect those freedoms? Each individual out for themselves? For their friends? It’s bedlam! It’s anarchy! The French Revolution was about individual freedom too, and then heads were rolling and they ended up with a despot who—“

“Ms. Schuyler, seriously. This is America. Sure, personal freedom can be taken too far but this country is different. Since the beginning…”

And Thomas Jefferson was waxing poetic about the greatness of America again. What a surprise. Burr found himself scanning absently over the audience, seeking a respite from the verbal assaults being volleyed over his head. If he could just find one person in the crowd who wanted to bash their own brain in as much as he did…

He did a double-take. There was no way. There was no way it was her. She was gone, had gone storming out of his life years ago and she hated him now and he hated her. His heart was starting to flutter. Why was she here? Why was she looking at him?

He had to get a hold of himself. He had to.

Control. Control.

“Onto the next question.” The moderator stated with poorly disguised relief. “You, sir.”

A young man who was trying far too hard to grow a beard stepped up to the microphone. “My question is for Aaron Burr.” Burr smiled at the young man, internally cursing him both fluently and creatively. “Mr. Burr, sir. Would you consider yourself to be a Democrat, a Republican, or an Independent?”

Burr crossed his legs carefully, pretending to consider the question. At last he spoke, keeping his smile firmly in place. “I consider myself to be an American, a New Yorker…” There were murmurs of discontent from the audience, even some derision. “…and a Mets fan.” The murmurings turned to laughs and pitying groans.

The moderator was less amused. “Mr. Burr, you are famous for withholding your personal opinions from public consumption. Do you feel that that is your duty as a news anchor? Some might say that not disclosing your personal biases is actually a form of deceit. What would you say?”

Burr sighed. God, he hated these panel things. “Sure. Well, I’d say many Americans find the duty of a news anchor to be to deceive, but no. I vote on an issue-to-issue basis and as someone who presents those issues to the American people, I prefer to keep my opinions current and informed, without feeling the need to cater to an overwhelming party sentiment. And I vote for anyone who hates the Yankees.” There were a few titters. “Just kidding, by the way.” Quiet was slowly descending over the room as people tried to decide whether he’d actually given out any information that was not baseball-related. 

“Next question.” A pretty, preppy girl took the microphone, giggling in that supposedly cute way that made the hairs on the back of Burr’s neck stand up. 

“Hi. This question is for all of you.” She giggled again. Burr bit his tongue until it hurt. “Can you please state in one sentence or less what makes America the greatest country in the world?” What was this, a college application? Some people snickered. Burr wanted to vomit.

Angelica pulled the microphone towards herself so quickly that she nearly pulled out the wire. “Diversity.” She stared down Jefferson as she said it and Burr found himself once more leaning away from her laser gaze. Frankly, he didn’t really understand why she was picking on Jefferson particularly. All three of them on this stage were black. All three of them were well aware of diversity issues in America. God knows they’d had enough trouble convincing the college that they didn’t need a white person on the stage for ‘the sake of equality’. Just because Jefferson acted like a patrician white dude didn’t mean he actually was one. 

Anyway, Jefferson didn’t seem too bothered as he reached for his mic. “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” he smirked, looking unduly proud of himself for his wholly unoriginal answer. 

“Mr. Burr?”

“The glorious hope for a future in which the Mets win the World Series. Or, as a realist, have a record above 500.” Now Angelica and Jefferson were both staring at him, looking annoyed. The moderator wasn’t pleased either. Hey, maybe they could all just agree they hated him and everyone could go home happy.

“Mr. Burr, I’m not going to let you get away with that. I want a real answer this time. It won’t kill you. What makes America the greatest country in the world?”

“Diversity, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. My fellow panel-members are right.” They weren’t. They were blindly lost in their own opinions and allergic to real facts, but who was he to care? It wasn’t like they listened. Any of them. Burr scanned the audience.

His heart skipped a beat.

She was there, in the back row. But it couldn’t be her. There was no way. Not her. But holding a sign. A sign that read IT’S NOT. 

There was definitely something wrong with his heart. Now it was speeding up, thumping in his throat. He was too hot, too observed, bursting at the seams. 

She—it wasn’t her, it wasn’t—the woman held up a new sign. BUT IT CAN BE.

Burr tried closing his eyes. He opened them. The moderator, Angelica, Jefferson and the college students were all still staring at him. She was staring. “This country has been founded on great ideals. Contradictory sometimes, yes, but no less powerful for it. We are a nation full of intelligent—“ Was she raising her eyebrows at him? He was definitely too far away to see that. The sign read IT’S NOT again. God, what was his heart doing? He was sweating. He was pretty sure his hands were shaking and he was finding it difficult to breathe. Was he dying?

“Are you alright, Mr. Burr?”

And something snapped inside him. If he was actually dying and this wasn’t some psychotic nervous reaction, then he might as well lay it all down. And if it was nerves? Maybe he could give her something real to raise her eyebrows about. 

“Actually, fuck it.” There was an intake of breath from the audience. Someone on stage bumped their microphone. Burr was jumping off a ledge. “You know what, America isn’t the greatest country in the world.”

“Mr. Burr—“

“No. You wanted me to talk. Here you go. Ms. Schuyler, your great public institutions are a beautiful idea and don’t mind the people who call you a socialist for wanting people to work together to protect their interests. But you know what? We’re not team players. None of us are. We’re selfish bastards and the only difference between us is that some of us recognise it and call it individual freedom and some of us spend our lives repenting our own natures by preening our egos on the shades of philanthropy while we gobble up the tax breaks. And Mr. Jefferson, since when have individuals known what’s best for themselves, never mind their whole country? Yes, we have the freedom to pursue happiness and what do we do? We spout uneducated opinions because we think that’s free speech while we inhale our Big Macs, exploit our neighbours and shoot each other for looking different or God forbid having an opinion. That’s freedom and Americans don’t even know what happiness means.’

‘And you, question girl. In case you ever have the misfortune of voting to choose a candidate in this so-called great nation, remember that when they tell you that America is the greatest country in the world, they are spouting baseless propaganda bullshit. America is 7th in literacy, 27th in math, 22nd in science, 49th in life expectancy, 178th in infant mortality, 3rd in median household income and number four in exports. The only areas we lead in are number of incarcerated citizens per capita, number of adults who believe angels are real and defence spending. In the last, incidentally, we outrank the next 26 nations combined, 25 of which are allies. Now, this isn’t really your fault. But it’s your generation who’s going to have to deal with it and a good starting place is that saying that America is the greatest country in the world is fucking insane. And so much worse if the person who says it actually believes it.”

Utter silence had descended over the room. Question girl might have been crying. Burr felt like he was being incinerated from the inside. His mouth was numb and his ears were ringing but he couldn’t seem to stop.

“It didn’t use to be like that. You know when they teach you about the founding fathers in school? About how they were united in this glorious vision to make a great nation? Well, that’s bullshit. They weren’t united, they weren’t glorious and they sure as hell didn’t think the nation they were making was going to be great. You know what they were? They were afraid. Like we’re afraid now. But instead of paralysing themselves with their own insignificance, they kept at it. They fought tooth and nail for every victory, not because they thought they were great and right, but because they wanted to be. Because they wanted someone 200 years down the line to have a chance to be. Because they knew that intelligent, informed decisions were the only way to advance, even when they were terrifying, even when all the knowledge in the world didn’t provide the answers. They didn’t shy away from intelligence, from curiosity or from fear. They embraced them all and they found the strength to do great things even as they feared oblivion. They didn’t hide from the truth. America was not the greatest country in the world and it isn’t now. But we can still do great things.” Burr turned to the slack-jawed moderator, feeling all the energy drain out of him in a dizzying rush. 

“Enough?”

***

There were reporters everywhere, cameras flashing in his face.

“Mr. Burr!”

“Sir!”

The back hallways of the college were blessedly dark. Burr still thought he might vomit, the feeling increasing ten-fold as Angelica and Jefferson caught up to him.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Jefferson practically screamed in his ear. He had never seen the man so thrown, and it gave Burr a small thrill of pleasure that was almost immediately overwhelmed by nausea. 

“I don’t know.” He was losing his voice. “I’m taking some medication for vertigo. I guess it works.” It couldn’t have been her in the crowd.

“Are you okay?” Angelica sounded sympathetic and it was infinitely scarier than Jefferson’s outburst.

“Man, you’re going to be in so much trouble.” Jefferson sounded inordinately pleased.

“I know. Look. Just—“ Burr put a hand to his head, physically felt the migraine building. “Um, what did I say out there?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Eliza is the best, Charles Lee is a predictable douchebag and Burr and Washington have an awkward relationship.

*three weeks later*

Eliza Schuyler was already having a bit of a rough morning when the door to the newsroom swung open to reveal Aaron Burr. This would not have been surprising in and of itself were it not for the fact that her boss had been on enforced personal leave for the last three weeks, ostensibly to give him a respite from the stresses of being a news anchor. Well, if that had really been the intention, it certainly hadn’t worked. Aaron Burr’s face was so still and mask-like that it was disturbing. Although Eliza was only a low-level assistant and hadn’t been working in the newsroom for very long, she had gathered that while most people became more agitated when they were upset, Burr had a tendency to freeze, statue-like. It was a good trait for a news presenter as he would never panic or become incoherent on air. It was less good for normal human interaction. Something Burr was obviously trying to avoid as he stormed, or rather walked with violently controlled normalcy, past her and into his private office.

“That stick up his ass is going to come out his mouth one of these days,” Charlie Lee said, grinning at her as he leaned over her desk. Eliza didn’t quite understand what the staff hated so much about Aaron Burr. He seemed pretty unobjectionable to her. On numerous occasions, Charlie had explained that that was the problem, but Eliza didn’t think it was worth getting upset over. The interrupted conversation which Charlie was trying not too subtly to steer them away from, however, was. Eliza had to get them back on track.

“Please meet us for dinner. I don’t understand why you’re making this a big deal. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“I just don’t want to be hasty about this, Eliza. I know there’s been a lot going on lately, but dinner just isn’t the solution.” Charlie moved his hand from her desk to her hand in a gesture that was either placating or possessive. 

“Charlie. We’ve been dating for four months. You can meet my parents by now. That’s not rushing it.” She didn’t add that he was fine with rushing other things in their relationship. Quite apart from not wanting to say the word _sex_ in the office, she was sick of explaining to him that she wasn’t ready, and equally sick of the smug and condescending way he agreed to wait awhile, like he should be getting a pat on the back for being so accommodating. She took a deep breath. She need to win Charlie over on this one. She changed tack. “Besides, I mean, two of my sisters eloped. You really don’t have anything to worry about. Dad will just be glad you haven’t kidnapped me or—“ She cut herself off just before saying _knocked me up_ rather loudly in the office. She took a fortifying breath instead. God, what had gotten into her lately? It was like Aaron Burr’s unexpected word vomit had rubbed off on the rest of the office.

“I’m not worried about your father.” Charlie said with such scorn that Eliza was actually a little offended. “I just—I have your interests at heart, okay? I just think we should take it slower.” Charlie turned abruptly towards the rest of the sparsely populated office. “Hey, Laurens. Don’t you think it’s too early for me to meet Eliza’s parents?”

John Laurens looked up from his laptop, grimacing at Charlie. John had shadows under his eyes, and a harried expression on his face. Eliza tried to pull her boyfriend’s attention back to herself, but before she could manage it, John said:

“Dude, my dad is so much scarier than Eliza’s. Grow a pair. Also kindly refrain from using our workplace as a battleground for your domestics. Some of us actually care about doing our jobs, Lee.”

“Sorry, John.” Eliza said, her face flaming. She grabbed Charlie’s arm forcefully to stop him retorting. The last thing they needed was a full on office fight on top of everything else. Though come to think of it, John could kick the crap out of Charlie any day, and at the moment that prospect didn’t sound too bad. She immediately felt guilty for thinking that and tried a softer tone with her boyfriend.

“Please just come tonight. I’ve told my parents all about you, and I promise it’ll be fine. Come on, Angie isn’t even going to be there. She’s the only one you have to worry about. Please?”

“Tell them I have to work late.” He was doing that thing again where he didn’t even engage with her argument. Normally, she would let it go, but maybe she was feeling just a little more like Angelica than normal today, because she decided to up the stakes instead.

“This is about the job, isn’t it? You’re going to stand me up and make me tell my parents the most transparent lie in the history of bad excuses all because you think I’m too loyal? Or maybe it’s because you think I’m too nice? Am I too much of a delicate flower to make it in the business, Charlie? Is that what you think?” She was definitely talking louder than she had meant to now, and the ten or so other people in the office were all trying desperately to appear deaf. At least there was very little chance that Burr would notice. She hoped.

Charlie stepped back from her, and for some reason, that annoyed her more. His voice was calm, but not kind. “Don’t try to speak for me, Eliza. It doesn’t suit you. And I’m one of the loyalest people you know. I just don’t understand how you could feel loyalty to Burr. The man doesn’t even know your name.”

“He promoted me from intern to assistant,” She said, more weakly than she would have liked.

Charlie laughed in her face. “Only because he didn’t realise you weren’t already an assistant. Look, I have to be at a meeting, honey. Text me after you’re done with your parents.” He moved to walk away, but Eliza held onto his elbow. 

“Fine. You win.” He started to pull away, but she wasn’t done. “Hold on. I need to make something clear. Do not laugh at me, and do not talk about our personal business in the office. The world has no right to that and before you say another patronising word to me let me remind you that if our relationship ever causes trouble we both know that you, hotshot EP, are not going to be the one taking the fall. Remember that. Now you can go to your stupid meeting.”

Charlie looked stunned, and Eliza probably should have been triumphant, but she actually felt a little sick. She didn’t know how Angelica did this sort of thing all the time. As Charlie walked to the door, John Laurens rolled his chair around the empty desk that separated them to give her a surreptitious high five. “Tell him, girl.” She smiled half-heartedly, and sat back down at her desk, slightly nauseous and yearning to lose herself in busy work.

The universe had other ideas.

At that moment, Aaron Burr poked his head out of his office. He looked around at the near empty room, face registering vague confusion.

“Um…where are my staff?”

“Oh!” Eliza jumped to her feet. The whole mess with Charlie had made the message she had received that morning completely slip her mind. She hurried through the labyrinth of desks and came skidding to a halt in from of Burr. “Washington wants to see you, sir.”

Burr took a step back from her, looking her up and down. “Do you work for me?” he asked, rather rudely.

Eliza blushed, but held her ground. “Yes, sir. Elizabeth Schuyler. I’m your assistant.”

“Really.” It wasn’t a question.

She felt rather sheepish. “You, uh, promoted me. The other day. And I am assisting you. Washington needs to see you right away.”

Burr gave her a look that seemed to burn right through her. “What do you know that I don’t?” She just about wanted to curl up in a corner and die, but that wasn’t what she was here for. Burr may have been her boss. May have been someone who was scarily inscrutable except when they were even more terrifyingly angry, but she was in the right here.

“I know that you need to see Mr. Washington right now, sir.” She wanted to add a _please_ on the end for good measure, but thought better of it. Burr held her gaze for a long moment before nodding slowly and stepping past her.

***

Aaron Burr strode down the corridors of ANC News with an intentionally unhurried stride. He smiled at the people he passed, and they moved away from him like he had the plague. A thick knot of worry coiled in his gut. Whatever Washington had to say to him, it couldn’t be good. His boss had never liked him, but Burr’s unflappable confidence and poise, not to mention general popularity with the public, had kept Washington from doing anything drastic. His little performance at the conference had blown that security out the window.

Now all he could do was hope that his ass wouldn’t be out on the street by lunchtime.

Washington’s secretary waved him past with a grim nod, and he entered Washington’s office with the kind of studied calm it had taken him years to perfect. Well, he’d thought he had perfected it. 

Washington was sitting at his desk, his imposing figure poised to perfect attention as Henry Knox’s voice burbled out of the speaker phone. “I’m just saying, sir, that your news channel could be seriously damaged if this doesn’t work out. And I know how pleased you are, but when I tried to hire him—“

Washington interrupted his monologue. “Aaron Burr is in my office.”

“That shady son of a bitch isn’t going to like—“ 

“You were on speaker.” Washington ended the call with a slight grimace. “And now you’re not.” Washington turned his icily calm attention to Burr.

“Mr. Burr. Sit down. It’s a pleasure to have you back.” Burr didn’t think he sounded quite sincere, but Washington was nothing if not courteous. “I trust you had a relaxing vacation.” Washington paused for a second, as if debating whether to say more. “I’ve heard tell of several exotic dancers, but I told my source that I really did not want the scoop on that account.”

Burr’s face was frozen in a smile. He could never tell when Washington was being serious, but he was well aware that the man disapproved of his sexual habits. Not that he cared. Washington had lovely Martha to keep him company every day and night. So what if Burr took what time he could with a dancer every so often? It didn’t really compare.

“Very relaxing, sir.” He managed to grit out. “I suppose that the rest of my staff are on vacation as well? You should have told me. I could have recommended some whores,” he said bitterly. If he was about to fired, might as well make upright Washington a little uncomfortable first.

“Burr.” Washington’s voice was dangerous. “Enough. You should be grateful your little performance a few weeks ago didn’t get you fired. Do not push me.” 

“Yes, sir.” Burr said, hating the relief that flooded through him. So he hadn’t been fired yet. “Forgive me if I misread your intentions, sir.” He could tell that his lightning switch back to propriety annoyed Washington. Burr liked to keep him guessing. “Now, if you’ll please tell me what you did with my staff?”

“George Clinton is stepping up to take the ten o’clock news spot in two weeks.” 

George Clinton was a morally corrupt, untrustworthy ass. “He’ll do well. What does that have to do with my staff?”

Washington looked Burr directly in the eyes, and he felt a chill run down his spine. Washington had a habit of getting more direct the more dire the news was. “Clinton is taking your staff.”

“What.” He didn’t raise his voice. Barring his sudden insanity three weeks ago, that wasn’t his way. Instead, his voice gathered chips of ice. Washington didn’t seem bothered.

“Well, technically, he’s taking your EP and Lee is taking your staff, but the result is the same.”

“The result is that you’re leaving me completely undefended weeks after…the thing. No producer, no staff. I don’t even think my personal assistant is legitimate. Forget about threatening to fire me. You’re just going to let the dogs eat me alive.” Burr was seething, fighting harder than usual to keep his voice level. Washington was still nauseatingly unaffected by the whole situation, maintaining that dry not-quite-humour that Burr hated.

“That vertigo medicine must be increasing your powers of speech. I don’t think I’ve heard you talk this much unscripted since we met.” Burr shook his head. The vertigo medicine had been a lie, and a bad one, but there was definitely something wrong with him. When had he started forgetting to keep his mouth shut?

Three weeks ago. Right.

“The things I said. At that conference. They were true. I believe them.” 

Washington’s stern face softened ever so slightly. “That’s the worst part, isn’t it?”

Was that a hint of sympathy in his voice? If it was possible, it was making Burr feel even more awkward. “Where are Clinton and Lee?”

Washington was studying him, perhaps less hostile that before, but no less frightening. “They are in a meeting. With pizza and I suspect some sort of illicit alcohol. I’m trying to maintain plausible deniability.”

Burr grimaced. “These are the men with which you’re leading the station?”

But Washington didn’t like that. Burr had hit too close to home. There was a reason that Burr hadn’t lost his job, and it wasn’t that Washington enjoyed his company. 

“Close the door on your way out.”

***

Sure enough, the plastic cups in the hands of George Clinton’s staff did not appear to hold diet coke. Burr stood outside the conference room, watching the action through the glass, trying not to feel what he thought he was feeling. Why would he be jealous of these idiots? Partying during work hours because they were on the receiving end of promotions, promotions which wouldn’t last long if if Burr knew anything about the competence of Clinton and Lee. No, it wasn’t jealousy. It was just being outside the room, on the other side of the glass. Alone.

Angry with himself, he rapped hard on the door.

“Clinton!” He yelled through the glass. “A word!” Clinton nearly dropped his cup in surprise, rushing outside. Lee followed him, draining his mysterious drink as he did so. “Did I ask for you?” Burr demanded of Lee. The other man bit his lip, but didn’t leave.

“I thought it was implied.”

“Whatever. Clinton, I’ve never been anything but supportive to you. Why did you rob me of Lee?”

But it was Lee himself who answered. “I volunteered to go.”

Burr glared at him. “You’re not helping your case. Clinton, you’re just trying to promote your own interests. Perfectly understandable.” Clinton looked away. Bastard couldn’t even admit he was a bastard.

“Charlie, though, why did you choose to go? Three weeks ago, that was a lapse of judgement. It won’t happen again.”

“It has nothing to do with that.”

“Really? Curious timing.”

“Oh, for God’s sake, Aaron. It didn’t. This opportunity came up and I didn’t like the direction your show was taking. And…” He hesitated for a moment, and Burr knew what was coming. “I don’t like you.”

Ok, that was not what he was expecting.

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t know what you want. I don’t know why you’re in this business, and you’re so unstable. Not just these last few weeks. You’re like having a crisis or something. I don’t know. I decided I wanted to go with Clinton.”

Eloquent.

“Charlie, everyone likes me. I’m affable.”

“No, they just can’t find anything to hate about you. There’s a difference.” Burr was actually a little impressed with that line of argument. Just a little.

“That might be the most intelligent thing you’ve ever said, but you’re still lying. It’s not the reason you’re going.”

“Yeah?” Lee was challenging him now. Clinton kept glancing longingly at the party through the glass. This wasn’t really his battle.

“You’re afraid. You’re afraid because for one instant I actually had an opinion. And not one that was going to get me money or popularity. And you’re afraid because my show is tanking, has been for months. Because people don’t want reasoned discourse and both sides of the issue. They want people like Trump. Fair enough. You’re not a stupid man. Get out while you still can.”

Lee was staring at him, mouth slightly open. Come to think of it, Burr was glad the man was leaving. He started to turn away, but thought better of it. He had one more thing to say.

 

“Oh and, for the record, you treat your girlfriend like shit. I’m not blind.” And he turned back down the hall, leaving a stunned EP in his wake.

Burr had about thirty seconds to bask in the glory of his exit. And then he nearly smacked straight into Washington. “Forget something?” He asked when he had regained his footing after a hasty sidestep.

Washington glared at him, and he did his best not to shrink away. The man was intimidating as hell, and the six inches he had on Burr didn’t help either. “Don’t play games with me. I wanted to let you know I hired a new EP.”

Burr tried not to look alarmed. “That’s not your place. I do the hiring. I need to know the person I’m working with.”

Washington grimaced slightly. “You do know her.”

Several pieces slotted together in Burr’s mind at once. He kept his expression neutral. “No.”

“Yes. She’s the best in the business. And since her husband died, Theodosia’s been run off her feet trying to keep up with his journalist work as well as her own. She needs a break. I asked her, and she was interested in giving it a shot. She’s coming in in a few hours with a new guy she hired. The two of you seemed to be friendly the last time she worked with us.”

He knew. Burr knew that he knew. Washington was famously stoic, but there was a slight curve to his mouth. He knew that Burr had been a lot more than friendly with Theodosia Prevost, and that things had not ended well between them. This was punishment. He didn’t bat an eye.

“Yes, sir. I should go prepare, then.” He would not give Washington the satisfaction of seeing him distressed. Not anymore. Burr had let his guard down once, and look where it had landed him. He was not about to do it again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's excited for Theodosia and Alexander next chapter??? me. i'm very excited. Come be excited with me on tumblr at ast0ryintheend.tumblr.com (smooth tie-in amiright).


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 30% angst, 70% sexual tension by volume. What did you expect? Meet Alexander Hamilton.

Theodosia Prevost strolled through a moderately impressive glass and silver building, stopping outside the gleaming entrance to the main ANC offices. She inspected the larger-than-life mural of Aaron Burr staring down at her from just through the glass doors. Perhaps staring wasn’t the right word. Gazing neutrally was more accurate. He looked amazingly banal in the photograph, amicable, unreadable, almost like a stock photo. Still magnetically handsome.

Theodosia sighed and pressed forth into the offices. Three years was a long time. 

A young woman with pretty dark eyes looked up at her entrance. She hesitated slightly before standing up to greet her. “You must be Mrs. Bartow. I’m Eliza Schuyler, Mr. Burr’s assistant.”

“It’s Ms. Prevost, actually, but call me Theodosia.” At Eliza’s little start, she added: “I never changed my name. Don’t worry. I’m not quite that heartless.”

“I didn’t—“ Eliza was blushing.

“Smooth, Eliza.” A passingly handsome, overly self-assured young man came into view, weaving his way lazily through the desks. “Theodosia. It’s been a long time. So sorry to hear about James. He was a great man. We had quite a few laughs back in the day.” Theodosia’s husband hadn’t been a great man. Average at best. And Charlie Lee really wasn’t old enough to have had a ‘day’. James had found him irritating. One thing they agreed on.

“Thank you, Charlie.”

“What brings you back here?” He asked, still annoyingly jovial.

She frowned a little at the question. Did he really not know? “I’m here to do your job. Just hired. Congratulations on the ten o’clock, by the way.”

Charlie Lee deflated almost comically as the news sunk in. “Oh. I guess that makes sense.” Eliza was hovering in the background, clearly a bit unsure as to how to enter the conversation. Lee liked to dominate discussion, but Theodosia saw an opportunity to pull the attention off of him and took it.

“So, where’s Burr?” She directed her question at Eliza, trying to include her and shut Lee up at the same time. Eliza reddened again, hesitating. Clearly deciding how much to tell her.

“He’s at his agent’s office.” The truth, then. Good woman. Charlie shot Eliza a look, like he thought she should have lied. 

“He didn’t know.” Theodosia said flatly. “He didn’t know until recently and now he’s trying to clandestinely renegotiate his contract because he doesn’t have the balls to have it out with Washington personally. Lovely.”

“He should be back soon,” Eliza said, apologetically. Theodosia shot her a smile and sat down in the empty chair next to her desk.

“Guess I’m sitting here until then.” Lee leaned forward as if to start a conversation, but Theodosia beat him to it. “Good seeing you, Charlie. Nice of you to greet me. I’m sure you’re very busy with the transition.” 

Thankfully, he took the hint and she was left alone with Eliza.

They sat there in somewhat awkward silence for several more minutes, Eliza shuffling through papers and trying to look busy, Theodosia watching. The younger woman was very organised, if the state of her desk was anything to go by, and there was a quiet strength to her. If Theodosia was going to make a snap judgment, and she often made very accurate ones, she would say that Lee had no idea what he had.

Eventually, Eliza stopped trying to distract herself and picked up the phone. Theodosia listened with interest, but looked away, trying not to make Eliza too uncomfortable.

“Hi, Dad, it’s me. I was just calling—yeah, I’m fine—to say that Charlie can’t come to dinner tonight. He has to work late…I swear it’s true. You’ll meet him soon. No, why would you think that? I’m not going to run away, Dad. Don’t be paranoid…well, I’m not Angelica. As no one ever hesitates to remind me…I know you don’t. I’m sorry. I’ll see you tonight. Love you.” Eliza put down the phone, doing an impressive job of holding in tears as she did so. Carefully not looking at Theodosia, she pulled out her laptop.

Theodosia wanted to say something. It would cross a line. She said it anyway. “You should drop him,” Eliza froze.

“My Dad?” She obviously wasn’t quite processing.

“Charlie Lee. You think he’s the sort of person that your father wants you to marry. He’s intelligent, up-and-coming, shares your faith and reeks of respectability. All good things, mind you, but you have to make the choice for yourself. You don’t have to overcompensate for the choices your sisters make in their relationships.”

Eliza sat in stunned silence for a moment, clearly mulling over the staggering inappropriateness of Theodosia’s speech. Finally she spoke, slowly, forming her words carefully. “How could you possibly know all that?”

Theodosia smiled at her. Eliza was so young. “Honey, it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes. I’ve met Charlie before. He was an acquaintance of my husband. Also, there’s a picture of the two of you on your desk, and that’s definitely a church in the background. It’s common knowledge that Angelica eloped with John Church before divorcing him when he went bankrupt and I’d have to be deaf not to hear the rumours about what she does after debates with Thomas Jefferson. The rest was extrapolation.” The words were harsh, but Theodosia said them with as much kindness as she could. God knew she was in no position to judge any of them.

Still, Eliza was blushing so hard that she was nearly purple. Theodosia thought she might start properly crying or at least run off to the privacy of a bathroom. But her next sentence caught Theodosia by surprise, partly because it was so out of left field, partly because it wasn’t at all. 

“I just can’t believe that you and Aaron Burr…You seem to have so many opinions.”

Theodosia laughed at that, just a little strained. She shook herself out of it. She was a grown woman, much more grown than Eliza, and all that was in the past anyway. She kept her voice light. “Oh, Eliza, Aaron has opinions too. You just have to know what buttons to push.” She winked. “Look, I’m not saying you have to break up with Charlie this second. Just know there are other fish in the sea. And that it’s your choice. Also, when he calls you tonight after your dinner, don’t go over to his place. Let him stew a little, and see what he says tomorrow.”

The blush was receding slightly from Eliza’s face and she smiled a little. “You’re being so kind to me.”

Theodosia shrugged it off good-naturedly. “I owe your sister, Peggy, a favour. Also,” and she put her hand on Eliza’s, “you’re going places. Trust yourself.”

Whatever Eliza was going to say to that was interrupted by a crash. Theodosia looked up to see her brilliant new recruit, Alexander Hamilton, making a characteristically dramatic entrance to the office as he tripped over a computer chord, causing a landslide of outdated equipment. Alexander fought his way through the wreckage, ponytail a mess, face scarlet.

“Alexander! You alright?” Theodosia hurried over to help, but he managed to extricate himself without too much difficulty.

“Theo! Are you aware that Aaron Burr has no idea that we’re coming? That he is in fact at this very moment in talks with his agent over re-negotiating his contract? That if said negotiation goes through, you and I will both be unemployed? That if you, with your unassailable intellect and many other undeniable charms, find yourself in this situation, you will easily get another position? And that I am still flat broke with no experience, no contingency, and a tendency to break potentially valuable electronics? We have to get him to—“

“Shhhh.” Theodosia said, trying to get Alexander to shut up for a minute.

“Don’t shush me. Look, I’m happy to risk the death of my career and the ritual slaughter of all my ambitions for you, Theodosia—“

“Don’t be so dramatic, Alexander.”

“But. Will you at least tell me what the hell is going on with you and Burr? Look, I heard the rumours, but I mean, seriously? Burr? The only difference between him and just putting the actual teleprompter on the screen is that the teleprompter doesn’t have that creepy blank smile! And okay, even assuming he was miraculously better in bed than said teleprompter, clearly he managed to hurt you, so why the hell are you back?” Alexander’s voice was rising every second, and Theodosia was painfully glad that the office was nearly empty, but Alexander was showing no signs of slowing down. She needed a distraction.

“Alexander!” She practically shouted over him. “I want you to meet the new associate producer, Eliza Schuyler.”

Eliza, who had been standing and staring at Alexander for the last few minutes, gave a start. “Um, I’m actually just an assistant.”

Theodosia shook her head forcefully. “Nope. From now on you’re associate producer. Congratulations.”

Alexander had, miraculously, fallen silent.

He was staring at Eliza, seemingly transfixed, a slow smile spreading over his face. To her credit, Eliza held his gaze.

“Alexander Hamilton. If it takes Theodosia’s questionable taste in men making me a homeless beggar for us to meet, then it will have been worth it.” He actually bowed a little at that. Theodosia was trying not to laugh, but Eliza looked charmed. Whatever else you could say about Alexander Hamilton, and there was a lot, the man had game. 

“Eliza Schuyler. Um, associate producer.” She smiled a little at the new title, but her eyes stayed locked with Alexander’s. This was going to be very interesting indeed.

There was a slight commotion at the other end of the newsroom as Aaron Burr hurried through to his private office, looking about as frazzled as it was possible for him to be. Which wasn’t very, but Theodosia could tell.

She turned back to Alexander and Eliza, taking a deep breath. “Well, I’ll leave you to it. Time for me to work my magic.” She started to walk purposefully towards his office.

“I don’t want that mental image!” Alexander called after her.

“Oh, I’m sure you have the imagination to dredge up a few more.” She threw a wink over her shoulder before pushing into Aaron’s office, immediately growing serious.

Time to face the music.

***

“Theodosia.” Her name sounded different on his tongue. It always had. It suited the lazy rhythm of his voice, the vowels of her name making it lose some of that newscaster robotics. She shook herself internally, kept her face calm. Now was not the time.

“Aaron.” She shut the door behind her, but didn’t sit down. He was at his desk, as neatly pressed and serene as ever. Clearly, he was incredibly stressed. “Look, I’m sorry about this. I didn’t know they hadn’t told you, and I know how much you hate surprises, and I promise, I did try to call you, but you were on vacation and maybe the reception…” She trailed off. Dammit, she was rambling. He was looking at her, appraising. She was out of practice. Making all the wrong moves.

She changed tack.

“I heard about those exotic dancers. Have a lot of fun? The pictures were fascinating.”

Burr’s mouth quirked in the slightest hint of a smile. “Jealous?”

Theodosia’s little laugh held no humour. “Of what? Sex? I get plenty of that. Some time on a beach would be nice. Haven’t been since James and I were first married. That’s what I’m jealous of.”

“Being married?” His voice dripped skepticism.

“Intimacy, Mr. Burr, intimacy.” She traced her hand along the edge of Aaron’s desk, watched his eyes follow it as though hypnotised.

“I’m going to fire you.” He said, flatly.

She laughed again, hating herself for her levity, for mocking him. It wasn’t what she wanted to do, but she did it anyway. “For what, office misconduct?” And she shouldn’t have said that because there were too many memories, and she couldn’t seem to hurt him without hurting herself. “Is that what you were at your agent’s for? To make sure you could retain your precious control over me? What about my employees? They moved here for this job, uprooted themselves completely. And you’re just going to throw them out on the street for your own petty pride?”

Aaron was utterly still, but Theodosia could taste the tension emanating from him. It took him a long time to form his words. When he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse. “I guess it will be a taste for them of what it’s like to trust you. I was thinking of a proverb earlier. What was it? Oh, yes. 31: 11. _The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain._ ” He quoted the verse with ironic disdain, looking past her towards the main office, his face hard in a way it never had been before. “What do you think, Theodosia?”

There were a million things she could have said. That he was not and had never been her husband for a start. But the verse applied no less well to James who was now buried unburdened by what she had done, by what she did not regret doing. She could have said that it was Aaron’s fault as well, and that would have been true. She could have pointed out that having the Bible memorised didn’t make you a believer, and she’d never known him to pray. She could have said any of these things.

She didn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is absolutely in no way a headcanon that Angelica and TJeffs had hate sex after that debate. None at all. Nope. (I am such trash ssshhhh)  
> Guess what happens next? Plot. Plot happens next. About time, really.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexander, Eliza and John try to deal with a big news story while Theodosia tries to get Aaron to reclaim his humanity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late, guys. Finals are a thing (like half the people on this website) and this chapter wasn't working for a while. Hope it's better now and enjoy!

“Charlie!” Eliza broke off their conversation and stepped away from Alexander almost guiltily, looking over his shoulder at someone. Her body language was weird, half apologetic, half defiant. “How was your meeting? This is—“

“Alexander Hamilton. It’s a pleasure,” He turned sharply to shake this Charlie’s hand. The man’s handshake was weak. Eliza was looking between the two of them, slightly flushed. Boyfriend then. Obviously, she was too good for him. 

Charlie looked Alexander up and down, lip curling ever so slightly. “Hamilton. You’re one of the ones that Theodosia brought over. Sorry about all the confusion with the handover.”

He didn’t sound very sorry. Alexander couldn’t have been more pleased to be taking his job. “Yes. I’m her producer.”

Charlie smiled at him. It wasn’t a nice smile. “So you were in the Caribbean with her, then? Everyone says she’s crazy to work for, but in that weather, maybe a beach, some cocktails…”

“Charlie!” Eliza jumped in, looking disgusted. He blushed. He’d clearly forgotten his girlfriend was there. Or else he was just that much of an asshole. Stupid either way. Not to mention his complete lack of understanding that people in the Caribbean did things other than fuck women on beaches. That they maybe did things like try to survive.

Charlie seemed to know he’d crossed a line, and he tried to back up. “Sorry, honey. I didn’t mean anything. Just being a guy.” He tried to smile again at Alexander. What a prat. Alexander couldn’t help himself.

“Theodosia’s the best journalist I’ve ever met. It’s been an honour to be able to learn from her. Now, I know you’re choosing to leave the team, and that’s fine. I mean it’s great. I get a job. But if you think that the reason—“ A computer near him beeped. He turned to look at, not really caring that this wasn’t his office or his computer. Just curious. “—the reason that Theodosia has had the success that she has is—holy shit, there’s been an explosion. Fuck.”

Charlie stood there dumbly. Slow on the uptake. Alexander reiterated. “An explosion, Charlie! Check your news alerts. Off the coast of Louisiana…” Without hesitation, he sat down at the abandoned computer, eyes whizzing across the screen and fingers flying across the keyboard. Eliza sat down next to him, logging onto her laptop to check her own alerts. Charlie was still standing there, looking like the human embodiment of the buffering symbol. Not a good look.

“How do you even have an explosion in the middle of the ocean?” He asked finally. Alexander snorted, but didn’t have a chance to respond.

“It’s got to be an oil rig.” A guy who was sitting kitty corner to them chimed in, not looking up from his own laptop.  
Alexander gave him an air fist bump with one hand while typing with the other. “Exactly, you! Cute one. I don’t know your name, but I like you!”

“John Laurens!” The guy yelled back, flushing a little. Then, more gravely, “It’s a well in the Gulf of Mexico that’s exploded.”

“Flames have reached one hundred and fifty feet in the air.” Eliza added, sounding just a little faint.

Alexander stood up, running a hand through his hair. “Ok, we’ve got to move on this.”

Charlie shrugged, unwilling to get onboard and clearly trying to project an air of calm rather than one of incompetence. It wasn’t working. “The status on the alert is yellow. We sit on it for now.” Alexander turned to him, ready to impress on this idiotic man the necessity of learning as much as possible as quickly as possible, but it seemed he didn’t need to convince the others.

Eliza reached out and tapped him on the shoulder, pointing at her screen and effectively stopping him from punching her boyfriend. For now. “Look, emergency rescue crews are on location at the burning well, fifty miles off the coast. At the last count, twelve to fifteen people are already believed missing.”

“The code’s still yellow.” Charlie added unhelpfully, still standing there like an idiot. Alexander didn’t get it. Major events were happening. How could he just stand there?

“Yellow, my ass! They probably have an intern running the updates. This thing is big. We need to tell Burr or Theo or, you know, do something about the imminent crisis.”

Now Charlie was sensing more than extra work on the horizon. Now he saw Alexander as a threat to his authority, and it spurred him into action. “Oh, and you’re the one to do something, are you? Well, let me tell you a little secret. You don’t work here yet. I’m not barging in on Burr’s fight with his ex and you aren’t either because this is my newsroom, and if you don’t like it, that’s fine. You can do things your own way. Two weeks from now. Until that alert goes red, we don’t need any more information.”

This was ridiculous. “Cute John, keep refreshing.” Alexander walked right past Charlie to go stand by John. Charlie was spluttering, and John’s face was red. Both of these sights were glorious to behold. 

“I said stop! There won’t be any new information. You’re wasting our resources.”

Alexander stopped, and turned to face Charlie again, a little in his bubble, exercising the utmost restraint by not grabbing him by the collar. 

“What about ‘explosion in the Gulf of Mexico’ do you not understand? This could be big. This could be huge.” He was waving his hands, trying to see if something was going to get through his head. “I’m thinking massive oil spills. Twelve to fifteen people? How about thousands of marine animals, a huge hit to the fishing industry, stock prices going wild. The consequences of this could be devastating and you don’t want to look into it because the colour-coding is wrong!”

“Alexander!” Eliza almost had to shout to get his attention, he was so intent on annihilating Charlie. “BP Deep Water Horizon, about fifty miles southeast of Louisiana—Coast Guard has already evacuated seven people, all critically injured. Eleven confirmed missing.”

“Still yellow,” Charlie said, now staring at his own laptop almost in defeat. 

“Forget the fucking colours!” Alexander screamed at him. He probably shouldn’t be yelling at people when he didn’t even have a job yet, but hey, maybe it would finally get Burr out here, so they could actually deal with what was going on. 

“The missing crew might not be their biggest problem.” John said, running his hands through his hair, still refreshing constantly.

Charlie was, inexplicably, still talking to the rest of the room. “It’s still yellow and since John and Eliza seem to have gone into rebellion, I need the rest of you…”

“Will you just shut up, Charlie whatever-your-name-is! John, what did you just say?”

“But I’m the—“ Charlie tried.

“No! John. Repeat what you just said.”

John stood up, talking to the whole room now. “They might have bigger problems than the missing crew.”

“Tell me,” Alexander leaned down to look at the screen with him, John pointing out the relevant numbers as he spoke.

“I checked out BP’s Deep Horizon and that rig is running at eighteen thousand feet below sea-level. There are only a couple of things that could have possibly failed and if it was the wrong one..”

Alexander clapped him on the back, practically vibrating with adrenaline. “Pressure! Trying to stop it would be like trying to douse a burning house with a hat. Even a really flame retardant one wouldn’t stand a—“

“What the hell are you on about?” Charlie had made his way over now, followed by Eliza and a couple of other curious stragglers.

John, Eliza and Alexander all spoke at the same time. “An oil spill.” Alexander waved his hands in the air, trying to get Sam to get it by pure force of will. “A massive one. Right off the coast of Louisiana, and if you can’t get it into your head how bad that is, then I don’t even think you should be here.”

“Excuse me?” Charlie was incredulous. “Look, I hardly know who you are, but you most certainly don’t have control over this office and—”

Alexander cut him off. “Yeah. So I may or may not, but probably won’t be the senior producer here in two weeks time and I know this is all up in the air and it’s not really my job, but I’m here. I’m in the room, and this is happening right now. Now you can go back to the fucking sports event or whatever that you want to cover, but just know that you’re throwing away your station’s shot to get to the truth.”

Sam rolled his eyes, and turned back to the meagre staff, apparently relieved that Alexander was letting him take charge once more. “Okay, everyone. I want to know whether the trucks for the Rose Bowl…”

Alexander waited until most people were fully engaged again, then pulled out his phone.

“Yeah. This is Alexander Hamilton. Okay. Will do.” He hung up, and sidled towards the door out of the newsroom, catching Eliza’s eye. She was watching him.

He winked, and closed the door quietly behind him, just barely catching her answering wink as he turned.

***

Theodosia wanted to leave the room. She wanted to turn around, walk out of this office, out of the newsroom and through the front door. She wanted to run away from the look on Aaron’s face and never come back.

She’d spent too much time running.

She took a step forward. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for hurting you.” She really meant it.

Aaron looked at her, his eyes softening. “Thank you.” Then his mouth quirked slightly, any hint of vulnerability gone. “You wouldn’t be saying that if you didn’t already know it was too late. I know you too, remember. And don’t worry about your staff. It’s only you I care about firing. The new EP can interview the rest of them and if they like them, the staff can stay. If that Hamilton you think is so brilliant is as good as you say, then he’ll be fine. You will be too. You’re like a cockroach, crawling out of the wreckage unscathed every time.”

“Flattering. That’s quite the speech for you.” They were staring each other down, and Theodosia couldn’t help but feel a slight rush. She was good at this game. Unfortunately, so was he.

Aaron’s quirky little non-smile widened. “I’ve gotten quite verbose lately, or haven’t you heard? Nearly got myself fired over it.”

“They should have fired you.” Theodosia said with quiet vehemence.

Aaron raised an eyebrow. “Think you would be in my chair if they did?”

Theodosia snorted. That was so typical of him. “Don’t be stupid. You know I’ve never had your ambitions. Smiling vaguely sympathetically at the collapse of the modern world has never been my forte. No. They should have fired you, not because of what you said. You haven’t been that sexy in years.” Aaron twitched spasmodically, but she ignored him. 

“They should have fired you because you were ashamed of saying it. You tried to take it back. These last few years, you’ve gotten so used to smiling your bland little smile and not offending anyone enough to ever even get laughed at on late night comedy and grabbing around for every last audience member who might have the slightest interest in your non-opinions that you’ve forgotten what it’s like to care. Sure, you pissed some people off. So what?” 

She leaned in a little closer. “For one moment, people actually listened. People saw you as a human being who has opinions for one day and then you had to go and apologise. For fuck’s sake, Aaron, I don’t get it.” She slapped his desk in frustration.

Aaron didn’t stop smiling that infuriating smile that stopped short of his eyes. “Theo, why can’t you understand that I don’t care? I present both sides of the story and opinions are detrimental to that. I can’t say I know why I lost it back there, but it was a mistake. I do regret it. I don’t know what else you want from me.”

Theodosia closed her eyes to ground herself. “Stop lying. Just stop. You’re good. We both know that. You’re not heartless and you’re not neutral. And I’m a better liar than you, so just stop.”

“You don’t have to remind me what a good liar you are, Theo.”

And that hurt, but she let it slide because at least he cared. “See, here’s the thing, Aaron. Your little rant was a beautiful finger in the faces of all those idiots blathering on about American exceptionalism, but you’re getting too cynical. And I am sorry about that because it’s probably at least a little my fault, and I’m sorry about everything else too, but for whatever reason we’re back and even you have to admit that we work well together.”

She took another deep breath, looking him straight in the eye, as much as it hurt. “Before everything else got in the way, we were good. And I think we could be good again. Because that’s the thing. That’s the part you forgot in all your carefully fact-checked statistics: America is the only country in the world that says time and time again that we can do better. That we can be more free, more equal, more happy. And that, whatever our great and many flaws, is beautiful. The two of us, we used to help. When we worked together, we gave people the facts, and we also gave them hope that despite daily calamities, we will keep trying. We can get back to that. If you want to fire me at the end of the week, fine. I’ll go back to making reports that could change the world and no one will ever read and you can go back to saying words that everyone will hear but will change no one. It’s your choice, but give us the week. I think we can do better.”

The silence stretched on for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Aaron spoke, always smiling. “That little speech did nothing for me. You’re wrong about me. I don’t care.”

She wanted to scream at him. She was screaming at him. She wanted to hit him. She wanted to rewind the universe and start all over. 

She didn’t even slam the door on the way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, facts and inspiration are found.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexander doesn't listen, Eliza doesn't know what she wants, and Theodosia doesn't know how make Aaron take his head out of his ass.

Eliza watched Alexander slip back into the room and put his phone in his pocket. He made his way straight over to her, and Eliza definitely didn’t feel something flutter in her chest. She was just anxious about the oil well. That was it.

“Hey, Eliza, do you know where I can—” 

“Alexander.” Charlie had come over to her desk and was positioning himself in an absurdly protective position that caused him to practically contort himself around her computer. Eliza felt her heart sink. She hated when he got this way, and Alexander was right about pursuing this story. Even if whatever he’d been doing on the telephone did seem a little shady. 

Apparently, Alexander had not been subtle enough, and Charlie had noticed. “What the hell were you doing on the phone? Like, I don’t care if you sit around and observe or something, but I can’t have you starting some kind of revolution in my newsroom before you even have the job. I’ll go to Aaron—“

Alexander didn’t let him finish. Eliza got a sense he did this a lot. “I have a source,” he blurted out.

Charlie was nonplussed. “What?”

Alexander rolled his eyes rather rudely. “A source. About the well. And before you ask, I can’t tell you who it is, but that’s not the important part, anyway. See, this source, they say they’ve been in meetings with BP and that they might _not_ know how to cap the well. We’ve got to get on this!” Alexander was literally vibrating with energy, and the papers on the edge of Eliza’s desk were in serious danger of being knocked off. 

Sam was still skeptical. “Do you have notes on this?”

“Here.” Alexander whipped out a miniature notebook and thrust it at Charlie. He took it, handling it as if it might be a bomb. Hesitantly, he flipped through it, his face becoming more incredulous by the second.

“Did you fill the whole thing?” Alexander nodded impatiently, still bouncing. “Jesus. How long were you on the phone?”

Alexander snatched the notebook back. “A few minutes. It’s just shorthand. I can type up the long version later, but I’ve got everything right here. All I’m waiting for is…” His phone started to ring. “…That! Excuse me. Yeah, thanks for calling back.” And then Alexander was completely absorbed with whoever the mysterious source on the line was. Brushing past Charlie, he started pacing across the newsroom, talking very quickly and quietly. Charlie made as if to follow him, took a detour back to his own desk, and slammed a packet of files so hard onto the table that he dislodged the desktop keyboard which fell to the floor with a resounding thunk.

“Fuck!” he shouted in frustration. Eliza stood up reflexively to help him. Part of her wished she would sit it out to show him she was still angry, but it just wasn’t in her nature. And Charlie seemed to appreciate it. As she checked the keyboard for major damage, he rubbed her shoulder with one hand, almost absent-mindedly. She leaned into it a little. Not that she wasn’t still angry, but…

“Thanks,” he whispered in her ear, and he sounded like he really meant it. Eliza smiled a little. “I’m sorry. For you know, everything. I just didn’t expect this handover to turn into such a mess.” 

“I know.” Eliza didn’t mention that they had already been fighting before any of this had started. She didn’t really want to think about it, not when their bodies were touching like this, and he was just holding her.

“You should come with me,” Charlie said after a minute. “I know you wanted to stay for Burr, but we could do great things over at the ten o’clock. It would be nice to be together. In case I accidentally throw any more keyboards or something.” Eliza laughed a little, even though her heart felt strangely heavy.

“I’ll think about it. Let’s just get through today.”

Charlie gave her shoulder a final squeeze. “It’s a deal. I have to go run something about my new position by Clinton. Be back in a minute.”

Eliza made her way back to her desk, feeling slightly dazed. She sat down, thinking that she should probably be doing some sort of work and wondering why she ever gotten in a relationship with a coworker. She wasn’t made for this kind of multi-tasking.

Her eyes caught on Alexander, who was pacing the newsroom with frantic energy, a brand new tiny notebook in one hand and his phone in the other. He kept waving his hand and throwing either his pen or notebook and then having to go retrieve them. 

She must have gotten lost in her thoughts, because Eliza didn’t hear John Laurens slide his chair over to her.

He gave a low whistle, “Damn. Forget the oil spill, that man’s a hurricane.”

Maybe that was why Eliza’s insides were swirling.

***

Theodosia nearly made it to the parking lot before she turned around. Damn Aaron Burr. He was so frustrating, so cynical, so _difficult_ and yet she couldn’t seem to stay away. Resigned with herself, she made the trek back up to his office, not caring that her hair was starting to flutter out of her braids. Damn professionalism. She had work to do.

She opened the door a little dramatically, striding back into his office and planting her hands on his desk. He didn’t seem surprised. Instead, he looked down at his hands in his lap. “Back for more.” Theodosia might have been being optimistic, but she thought he was smiling a little. And he was hiding it, so it must be real. 

Round two. Theodosia straightened her spine and looked Aaron directly in the eyes, quoting as she did so: “They didn’t shy away from intelligence, from curiosity or from fear. They embraced them all and they found the strength to do great things even as they feared oblivion. They didn’t _hide from the truth._ ” She slammed a hand down on the desk on that last line. He didn’t jump, just looked at her, a little bemused.

“What’s that from?” As if he didn’t know.

“You, you dumb-ass. That’s what you said the other week in front of all those people. And it was beautiful. It was inspiring, and it would have been a sight more inspiring if you actually lived by it, goddammit!”

“I’m not a Founding Father, Theo. I’ll remember history, I’ll tell it as it happens, but it will never remember me.”

“You’re wrong.”

“I need to work. I have a news show to run.”

She snorted, so fed up, so unwilling to quit. “Look, I’ll write it for you. The volcano eruption is believed to have started on March 20th and has sparked a worldwide transportation disaster. The disruption in air traffic was in no way caused by America which I love. Honestly, I love it so much. Here look at this tattoo of the American Flag on my ass to prove how much I—“

He was laughing. Aaron Burr was actually laughing. Mind you, not roll on the floor hysterics, but there was a definite chuckle. He had such a nice laugh. “I forgot how insane you are.”

Maybe she was getting somewhere. Just a little bit. “Insane is what makes you win.” She ran a hand through her hair, making it even messier. This needed to work. She didn’t know why she cared so much. “Insane. Not careful, not neutral, not obfuscating and avoiding the hard questions. Insane is what made this country what it is, and insane is what can make it so much better. Maybe it takes a crazy person to talk truth to stupid people even though they never want to listen, to stand up for what we believe in an age where you can make up your own facts and slap them on wikipedia. Me, Alexander, my team, we’re crazy. And we can make the news great again. But we need you.”

“You. It’s what you believe.”

It took every ounce of Theodosia’s self-control not to scream at him. She took a deep, calming breath, and when she spoke, her voice was only a little hoarse. “No, Aaron. What we believe. You may be able to feed the world your bullshit about being impartial, about doing this job just because it’s any old job and it pays well, but not me. You can’t fool me, and I know how much you wish that wasn’t the case, and I know I’ve never been the person you wanted me to be, but come on. You have beliefs, and you do care. You care so much that it rips you apart, tears you into a million shreds until that annoying newscaster smile is the only thing holding you together. I know you, Aaron. You believe in the ideas, you just don’t trust people not to let you down. And God knows I’ve contributed to that, but we have to try. Those high ideals you believe in somewhere that you never let people see? That’s what makes you a great newscaster, but it’s not enough. Me, I believe in people. I believe in the people who do their best to run this nation, as often as they are wrong. I believe in the people who watch this show, as stupid as they try to be. And I believe in you, even though you don’t. I think we can make this work. What do you think?”

The silence was not as long as it might have been. “I think it might be easier to found a new nation.”

Theodosia laughed, a little in relief, a little in fear. “Well, then let’s show those Founding Fathers how it’s done.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: they uncover more information, fight about it, and try not to be too intimidated by Washington.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie want everything to get back to normal, Alexander wants to change the world and Washington wants everyone to do their jobs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry sorry sorry there won't be this long a break between updates again. Finals, changing countries and other stuff happened. sorry

Charlie Lee entered the newsroom he had once practically owned with a certain degree of caution and a good deal more weariness. He was just trying to get through the day. When he’d gotten the chance to move up in the ranks and work on a show nowhere near Aaron Burr, he’d been ecstatic. Two weeks until the transfer had seemed like nothing. That was until Alexander Hamilton arrived in his life. The man was infuriating, his manic energy zapping Charlie like a shock. Not to mention the fact that he had started hitting on his girlfriend at the exact moment that Eliza had gotten upset with Charlie. Not that he was worried that she would actually go after someone like Alexander. Apparently, the man was broke, and her father would never approve. Besides, no one could stand being around someone with that much energy twenty four seven. It had hardly been an hour, and Charlie already had a headache. It didn’t help that George Clinton was onto him already about his new show. He had thought that these last two weeks of the job would be smooth sailing, re-integrating Burr with mostly non-controversial stories and working on Eliza until she inevitably chose to join him at the ten o’clock. 

His headache was veering swiftly towards migraine territory as Alexander popped up next to him, seemingly out of nowhere. “Lee!” Had Eliza told him his last name? Not relevant, but still. 

“Alexander, no. Christ. Drop it.” He knew before the words were out of his mouth that it was no use.

Alexander took a breath, fuelling himself for the explosion. “55 seconds with the Coast Guard Liaison? Are you kidding me? That’s not even close to enough. When is it going to enter your thick skull how big this thing is? You’re not even chasing the right story. See, Halliburton was the contractor on this weird special type of concrete—“

“Alexander, you are literally the most insufferable person I have ever met, and I work in journalism. The bar is high. You. Do not. Work here. Yet. Now, shut up.” Charlie turned away, daring to hope that that would be enough to get the man to be quiet for five minutes and let him do his job.

He got about five seconds of peace.

“Hey, how happy do you think Washington’s going to be when I phone this over to CBS and he finds out that you had it first and did nothing about it?”

Charles whirled back around, sick to death of the whole thing, but feeling a sort of prickling fear crawling up the back of his neck. “That’s it. Alexander Hamilton, get the fuck out of this newsroom.”

To his utter shock and slight unease, Alexander just shrugged. “Okay. Elevator’s that way?” He pointed over his shoulder and Charlie nodded, dumbstruck.

But, of course, Alexander didn’t head for the elevator. No, he went in the opposite direction, straight towards Aaron Burr’s office.

“No!” But it was too late, Alexander was already throwing the door open, and all Charles Lee could do was run after him like an idiot.

“Mr. Burr, sir. I’m Alexander Hamilton. You don’t know me. Sorry to interrupt, but there’s been an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Charlie shouldered his way into the office, hating how flustered he felt. “It’s not a big deal, Aaron. The Coast Guard is looking for six missing crew. We’ve got this handled. I’ll brief you at six. It’s only code yellow.”

“Yellow or not, there’s more.” Alexander broke in. Aaron and Theodosia were looking between them, both their faces frozen in identical looks of bemusement. He and Alexander shouldn’t be in here. Time to make a strategic retreat.

“There really isn’t. Come on, Alexander.” He grabbed Alexander’s arm and was on the verge of tugging him bodily out the door when Aaron spoke.

“Wait. Contrary to common belief, I like to know a little bit about the news that comes out of my mouth. What is it, Alexander?”

There was never any telling what Aaron Burr would do, and it drove Charlie insane. He just stared with those blank, friendly and distancing eyes until he made up his mind. It was creepy, and right now, it was not working in Charlie’s favour. He wanted to punch something or someone. Preferably someone named Alexander. “You’re going to get us all in trouble, you little bitch,” he hissed instead, right into Alexander’s ear.

Unfortunately, either Aaron had super-hearing or he could read lips, because his face darkened. Charlie had thought it was strange when it was expressionless. This was worse. “Lee, you will not use derogatory sexist slurs in my office, or anywhere else in relation to someone on my team. I’m sure your girlfriend would appreciate the _effort_ too. Anyway, Alexander. Who are you?”

Theodosia was even quicker off the mark than Alexander this time, not an easy feat. “This is Alexander Hamilton. The one I told you about. My Senior Producer. 

“Senior? Is he old enough to drive?”

Alexander blushed slightly at that, but spoke anyway. “I’m older than you. Sir.”

Aaron’s mouth quirked into another variation on his unreadable smile. “Duly noted.”

Theodosia stepped in on Alexander’s behalf. “He’s one of the best. He may have a slight inability to ever close his mouth, but he’s very good.”

“I’d gathered.” Aaron said drily. “Anyway, Alexander. What do you know? Briefly, please.”

“Okay, so I got two calls within a couple of minutes of each other. The first was from a friend of mine at BP in London, and he said that he was sitting in meetings where they didn’t know how to cap the well.”

“Jesus,” Theodosia breathed.

Aaron leaned forward in his chair. “Oil still spilling?”

Alexander nodded his jerky little nod of his, like he would take any avenue available to speed the conversation up to match his train of thought. “Yep. And that’s not the worst of it.This oil is leaking at an alarming rate. At first they were thinking it was going at about ten thousand gallons an hour. My guy says that’s crap and it’s closer to one hundred thousand, and could get up to a quarter of a million. BP are trying to cover their asses, but they aren’t going to be able to hide this once the effects start piling up.”

Aaron was nodding slowly, jotting the numbers down on a piece of paper. “Good. What makes this well special?”

Alexander was practically glowing at the fact that he was getting attention for his little extra credit work. Charles grit his teeth. The others seemed to have forgotten he was even in the room. Alexander certainly had. “The depth. Um, this bit isn’t really my area. I need one of your staffers. The really cute one with the freckles. John Laurens. He knows this shit better than I do.”

Aaron raised an eyebrow. “Nice to see you’re making yourself at home. Seems you won’t have any trouble getting along.”

Theodosia said “You’re one to talk” at the exact same time as Charles said “That’s unprofessional.”

There was an awkward pause.

Aaron got up and opened his office door. “Laurens! The hyperactive new one needs you.” They all followed him out into the newsroom, Charlie becoming acutely aware of how the few people left in the office had stopped their work to watch the show.

John Laurens’ head popped up over the top of his laptop, and he knocked his chair over in his haste to get to Burr and the others. Alexander clapped him on the shoulder when he arrived. Hadn’t they only known each other for like ten minutes?

“John! Explain the thing to Burr.”

“Right. So it turns out BP’s Deep Horizon is surprisingly aptly named. This well is deep, man. Like 18,000 feet below sea level deep.”

“What’s the problem with that?” Aaron asked, in a tone that suggested that he knew there was going to be a problem and that it was likely to be devastating.

“Yeah the problem is that that’s basically like filling this massive thing three times deeper than the Grand Canyon with water and then poking a hole in it.”

Alexander whistled.

“How do you know all this?” Theodosia asked, frowning slightly.

John blushed. “My dad’s really high up at Exxon Mobil. Same sort of stuff.”

Alexander whistled again. “Bet he’s going to be happy.”

“Wouldn’t know. He disowned me when I was eighteen.”

There was an stunned beat of silence. “Sorry, man.” Alexander said softly. John shook his head.

“No, I’m sorry. That was totally not relevant at all, and fuck my dad anyways. Have you told Aaron about your second phone call?”

Alexander stared at John for a long second before turning to Aaron, the excitement returning to his body in a way that made Charlie think of a revving car engine. “Okay. It was my guy at Halliburton.”

“You have a guy at Halliburton?” Charlie couldn’t help being incredulous. The man had admitted he was broke and barely looked like he was out of college. What was he doing with a guy at Halliburton?

Alexander opened his mouth to deliver what was certain to be an unnecessarily long-winded explanation, but he was cut short.

George Washington had entered the room. He did not walk over to them quickly, but there was powerful urgency behind each one of his steps. “Did I just hear that an oil rig has exploded from an _assistant producer_? Was no one else planning on bringing me into the loop?” And there was Eliza Schuyler trailing behind Washington, looking embarrassed but also pleased with herself. Charlie forced himself to swallow his anger. He thought they had been working things out. How dare she go behind his back like that?

“It’s only a yellow,” he asserted, trying to justify himself. A moment later, he wished he’d kept quiet as the full force of Washington’s stare focused on him.

“It’s an orange now, Lee. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t decide what to inform me based on a colour system manned by a sleep-deprived intern.”

Charlie could swear Alexander was smirking.

Washington cleared his throat and addressed the group at large once more. Charles relaxed slightly. “Alright, now fill me in. I don’t know what you people would do without Eliza.”

“Amen.” Alexander said out of nowhere. 

Aaron opened his mouth to speak. “Alexander says that—“ But Alexander cut him off before he could explain. Washington didn’t stop him, and Charlie could feel the annoyance radiating from Burr. He couldn’t pretend he didn’t enjoy it.

Alexander didn’t seem to notice. “Mr. Washington, sir, my contact at Halliburton informed me that when the rig was due to be moved to a new role as a semi-permanent production platform at a new location. Halliburton’s job was to seal the well with cement.”

“Alexander Hamilton, correct? I’ve heard a lot about you.” Washington said, with the very slightest warmth in his tone.

Alexander, the arrogant bastard, shrugged off that Washington had heard about him, as if he expected the whole world to know his name. “At your service, sir. Both people I talked to think that the failure of the cement mix caused the explosion, but here’s the thing: Halliburton tested the cement!” Alexander was quite literally vibrating with energy at this point. It was vaguely upsetting. “And their tests showed that this was going to fail!”

“Jesus Christ,” Theodosia breathed at the same time as Burr said “Tell us your sources.”

Alexander took a deep breath. “Sorry, I can’t. Trust me, Burr. Theodosia does. Don’t you trust her judgement?”

“No.” He said flatly. Theodosia flinched and tried to cover it by fixing her hair.

“Mr. Washington, will you trust me, sir? I swear. They’re solid sources, and this is just too big to sit on. We can’t just wait for some other station to get this thing. We need to jump on it now. Please, sir.” 

Aaron shifted uncomfortably, looking between Alexander and Washington. “Mr. Washington, if we rush into this—“

“Thank you for your input, Burr. Hamilton, we’ll look into this further.”

Hamilton did a little leap of joy. “Thank you so much, sir. Here’s what you should do. Lead with the Coast Guard search and then pivot to this because John says—“ Alexander flapped his hand at John Laurens, urging him to finish.

Laurens swallowed. “This is going to be the greatest environmental disaster in recent history.”

They were turning themselves into a double act. He just couldn’t take any more of these theatrics. “Look, can we just get back to work? This isn’t the History Channel speculating on potential world ending scenarios. We don’t report speculation like this. I mean, come on.”

This time it was John who opposed him. “Charlie, I don’t think you really get it. Listen, the first thing that should happen is the underwater blowout preventer should close automatically, and—“ Alexander, to no one’s surprise, jumped in.

“—the flames are still a hundred and fifty feet high! Obviously, that didn’t happen, and when they get the fire out, they’ll send a submersible ROV down there to manually turn on the preventer but my source says…” Alexander flipped through his tiny notebook feverishly. He found the page and read out: ‘at that depth and pressure, it has to be the mechanics that failed and not the electronics.’ So, basically, this whole manual thing isn’t going to work and then—“

John jumped back in. How long had these two known each other? “—their only other option is to build relief wells, which will take months of—“

“—oil spilling into the Gulf at a rate of 4.2 million gallons a day.”

Lee shook his head. This was all moving way too fast. He did a quick google search on his phone. “Guys, for the record, the Gulf of Mexico contains 643 quadrillion gallons of water. Stop overreacting.”

Alexander looked like he was about to explode. “Lee, how stupid are you?”

“Ham—“ Both Burr and Theodosia started to say, but Alexander wasn’t done yet.

“Here, let me break it down for you with some totally not overreacting facts. In four days, the spill will have equalled that of the Exxon Valdez. The oil will reach Louisiana shores in one week. Cut that down to three days if the wind shifts.”

“Will the wind shift?” Theodosia asked.

Alexander snorted. “We’re talking about New Orleans here. When has the place not been an absolute magnet for disaster?”

Theodosia took a deep breath. “Okay, then. Look, Alexander, you have to tell them your sources. We can’t work without it.”

Hamilton shook his head. “I can’t.”

Washington cleared his throat and everyone’s attention immediately snapped to him. “I think we need to end this little domestic for the moment. Alexander, we need the sources.” Washington didn’t sound particularly angry, but Charlie still felt like a misbehaving school-child who was being scolded. He did not appreciate it, but he also suspected that Washington did not care. “Burr, we’re using your office. Hamilton and Prevost come in. Lee and Laurens, make yourselves useful. Start looking for more info on the Gulf.”

There was no arguing with Washington.

***

Only when they were all safely shut into Burr’s office did Alexander speak. “Okay, fine. So the BP guy is a friend of mine. Used to be a tailor until he used his strange, latent engineering skills to infiltrate BP. Not going to say his name, for obvious reasons. The other guy…I used to know him.” When he was poor and hungry with no future. Well, he was still poor and hungry, but…”I lived with his family for a little while. He’s like a brother to me. Even if he does work for Halliburton. Still gave me info, so he’s cool.”

“And you were able to get not one but two people to give you sensitive information about their employers in five minutes?” Washington’s manner was composed. He was not really questioning Hamilton, just curious.

Alexander couldn’t help himself. “I’m very charming, sir.” Washington pursed his lips, and Alexander felt vaguely annoyed. He wasn’t even actually flirting.

Burr made a skeptical sound. 

“Come on, Aaron, it’s true. Stop being jealous. He makes you want to do anything for him.” Theodosia said, surpringly casually in front of her brand new boss.

“Would _you_ do anything for him?” Burr was also trying to sound casual.

“Would you _care_?” Theodosia shot back. Washington cleared his throat. The tension was palpable. Alexander couldn’t help but feel relieved that Washington was present. Theodosia was great, but he really didn’t understand her dynamic with Burr. 

“Never mind.” Burr appeared to forcibly drag his gaze away from Theodosia. “Here’s the thing. What if we’re backing the wrong horse? We accuse Halliburton of negligent homicide and it turns out it wasn’t their fault? We’re all dead. Not just us. This whole station goes over to Halliburton. A mistake this big, and they could easily buy us out. God knows they’ve been trying long enough. We jump the gun on this, and everything this station has worked for is gone. I say we wait.”

No. That wasn’t how this worked. Alexander had to get Washington on his side or they were going to lose their chance at this story. “What was this station built for then? We’re here to take risks, to find facts that other people are too scared to dig for. You don’t get good at the news by not pissing anyone off. You get good by being right. And I can tell you right now, I’m right. We need to pursue this.” He didn’t understand why Burr wasn’t taking this more seriously. Alexander wasn’t surprised by Lee. He was an idiot. But according to Theodosia, Burr was very smart. So why wasn’t he jumping on this?

“Mr. Washington, what do you think?” Theodosia prompted.

Hamilton looked at Washington, trying to gauge him, what sort of man he would be. Washington deliberated for a minute, shooting Hamilton what had to be the most minute of sidelong glances before speaking.

“I say we throw out a rundown. Get to work, see how much of this we can get confirmed by tonight. If we have enough, we go for it.”

Alexander breathed a sigh of relief as they filtered out of the office behind Washington. Finally, they were getting somewhere.

“Alexander. A word, please.”

Not so fast. Burr was standing at the door to his now empty office. Alexander followed him inside, and Burr shut the door behind them.

“You can’t override me in front of Washington like that. You work for me.”

Alexander did a good job not rolling his eyes. Really, petty power plays? He had a story to work on. “I don’t appreciate you speaking for me, sir. It was my information to give.”

Burr tilted his head a little. “I don’t know what it was like at your last job, but that isn’t how it works here. You tell me, I tell Washington. It’s called a chain of command.”

Now that was patronising. “With all due respect sir, I went to war. I know what a chain of command is.”

Burr pursed his lips. “Then act like it.”

“It didn’t seem as though Washington minded.” For a moment, Hamilton thought Burr was going to yell at him. Or maybe punch him. But then, in an act of supreme willpower, he schooled his expression back to a professional neutral.  
“Just get this story right, Hamilton. We can discuss the rest later.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: The team gets to work, Burr makes a decision and Lee learns that Eliza is not, in fact, a cinnamon roll.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team gets ready and Eliza is not a cinnamon roll.

Burr waited a few minutes after Alexander left before leaving his office. He didn’t want the staff to see him frustrated, however little they already thought of him. He stood behind the door, breathing deeply and trying not to let the veiled hostility of his employees get to him. Despite himself, he was beginning to prefer Theodosia’s pushiness and Alexander’s total disregard for basically everything over the coldness of the people he had spent months working with. He couldn’t decide what had changed exactly, but an environment that had seemed only vaguely unsatisfactory a few weeks ago now felt sickening. 

When he finally felt ready to confront the room, he found the primary source of the attitude change standing in the middle of the room. Charles Lee appeared lost, or more likely, just unwilling to tackle a project that wasn’t his own brainchild. This would have been aggravating enough were it not for the fact that most of the remaining staff seemed to be following his example. They were understaffed as it was, without people playing games on their phones at work. The small pocket of the room containing Alexander, Eliza, and John Laurens seemed to be the only one in motion.

Burr may not have liked Washington, and Hamilton might be meddling and reckless, but at least he got to work when there was a story to be found. Perhaps Lee thought he could get away with this behaviour in front of Burr because he knew he didn’t want to pursue the story either. But Lee was, as ever, a poor judge of character. Burr was cautious, but he was never lazy and Charlie’s attitude was unacceptable. As much as he would have liked to avoid the conflict, things had to change. Aaron made brief eye contact with Theodosia who was watching him from her perch on a desk a few places away from the trio. She was eyeing him expectantly. Always two steps ahead. Damn her. 

“Show of hands from everyone in here who’s going with Lee to the ten o’clock slot.” The few stragglers dotted around the room raised their hands slowly, tentatively. It was hard to tell, but it looked like pretty much everybody. There was nothing for it. He’d just have to see if he had any staff at all once he did what he was planning to do. At least he had Theodosia. He erased that thought from his mind as soon as it entered his brain.

“Right then. You all can leave. Lee, you too. Two weeks of paid vacation, starting now.”

Most of the workers got up with some relief, and began to pack up their belongings. Lee, on the other hand, was sputtering. “You can’t do that! I thought you were on my side. You can’t just kick us out like this. Two weeks! This is ridiculous.”

God, the man was such a child. “Look, Lee. It will give you more chance to prepare for your own show. We’re making the transition early. Don’t argue with me.”

Lee gave one final petulant huff before violently grabbing his satchel. “Come on, Eliza. This is the most ridiculous way I have ever been treated in a job. Highly unprofessional. Let’s go.”

But Eliza wasn’t moving. Come to think of it, she hadn’t raised her hand either. Charlie had turned in Eliza’s transition papers along with his own. Had he been lying about her intentions or had she changed her mind? Either way, she seemed decided now. “No, Charlie. I’m going to stay.”

Charles Lee just stared at her, completely blankly, for a moment. Then his face reddened and he stepped towards her. For half a second, Burr thought he might do something incredibly stupid, like hit her or something. But he just said, “Come talk to me outside” in a low voice. Eliza got up to follow him. Burr could see Alexander out of the corner of his eye watching her like a hawk. As the tension in the room slowly dissipated, the other former staff members cleared out, leaving only Alexander, Theodosia, John Laurens and himself. Burr felt an inexplicable twinge of fondness for all of them which he quashed immediately.

Theodosia was smirking at him. “So you were listening to my eloquent little speech earlier.”

God, she was aggravating. “No. That wasn’t it. I would have done this anyway.”

“It’s cute that you think that.” And she was flirting with him, and she hadn’t done that since…

“If anyone comes calling, tell them I’m not in the office.” He walked as quickly as possible back to his office, trying to ignore Alexander’s voice over his shoulder.

“Fine, but you do realise that your office is transparent and there are only three of us to run interference, right? Adding to that the fact that Theodosia would probably invite them to tea just to annoy you and make you remember all the hot dates you two used to—ow fuck!”

Burr did not need to turn around to know that Alexander Hamilton had just become acquainted with the infamous Theodosia-in-heels foot stomp that Burr himself was all too familiar with. Served him right.

***

Eliza didn’t understand how just a few hours could change so much in a relationship. That morning, she had been happy with Charles Lee. Sure, he wasn’t brilliant or amazing, but neither was Eliza, and he had always made her feel like she belonged. He was easy to be with, and her father liked him, and Eliza thought that would be enough.

She was wrong.

“You’re trying to get back at me for not going to dinner with your family, aren’t you? I thought your sister was supposed to be the vindictive one, but—“

“Don’t you dare insult Angelica! You know how much my family means to me, Charlie, but actually no. That’s not why I’m staying. I’m staying because—“

“That Alexander Hamilton’s pretty hot, isn’t he? Of course, I thought you were more into men who could provide for you and your little housewife dreams.”

Eliza Schuyler was not a woman who got angry easily. It was not in her personality, and her sisters were more than willing to do the heavy lifting for her when it came to defending the family, but now? Now she was seeing red. How could she have ever dated this guy? Wait, were they breaking up? She’d worry about that later. For now, she had a few things to get straight.

“Hold on. Stop right there and listen to me. I’m not staying because of the stupid dinner or anything else you could dream up and I’m insulted by the insinuation. Look, Theodosia offered me an assistant producer role. It’s a huge promotion for me, and contrary to your assumptions, just because we’ve talked about, you know…” It was suddenly hard to remember having these conversations with this man. “…family stuff, doesn’t mean I’m not interested in a career as well. Besides, this oil spill? I’m invested in it. I’m part of the story. And think of the lives that could be lost, of all the people who deserve answers. I’m not going to sit at home with an unearned pay check when I could do anything that might help people.” She was a little out of breath, energised in a way she wasn’t sure she liked. Charlie looked shocked, but he was angry too. His pride was hurt. Typical. He opened his mouth, and somehow Eliza knew that whatever he said next would be the breaking point.

“If you’re so good and loyal, why are you turning your back on me? Come on, Eliza.” His voice was pleading now, and it made her sick. “Come home with me. You can spend time volunteering for one of your charities until I start my new job. Then, you can come back to work with me, and we’ll all be happy. I bet you’d have time to clean the closets like you’ve been meaning to.” The condescension in his voice was unbearable. Eliza felt herself snap. She didn’t scream or cry or anything like that. It was all internal, a little fissure in her mind opening up and swallowing her relationship with Charles Lee whole.

“You have no idea what I want. Fuck you.” And she left him there, standing with his mouth open in the middle of the hallway, looking like an idiot.

He didn’t have to know that that was the first and probably only time she would use the f word in her life. He didn’t have to know that he was at least a little bit right about what she wanted. He didn’t have to know that she didn’t really have any idea what she was getting herself into. He didn’t have to know any of this.

All he had to know was that Eliza Schuyler didn’t want any of it from him and she was done.

***

John Laurens had never known the newsroom to feel so alive. Even since Alexander Hamilton had walked in with Theodosia that morning, the place had been moving to an altogether unfamiliar rhythm. It was glorious. He felt only a slight twinge of pity for how thrown Burr was looking and none at all for Charles Lee, who had practically dragged his girlfriend out of the room only a few minutes ago. If they were gone much longer, John would find them and he had no qualms at all about punching Lee in the face, no questions asked.

“John! Make some calls to see if you can’t get a crew on the ground…” Alexander was pacing restlessly, texting on two different phones simultaneously. Theodosia was yelling at someone on her phone about EPA regulations and Burr was quietly but efficiently making several different sources spill information they had not intended to leak. No pun intended. John was about to pick up his own phone when the door to the newsroom opened.

It was Eliza. Her eyes were a little red, but there was a quiet smile on her face and determination in her eyes when she spoke. “Okay. I’m back. What’s next?”

Alexander’s face broke into a wide smile, and he set down his phones momentarily. “Eliza! You’re back! My heart was breaking at the thought of you leaving us,” he said, incredibly melodramatically for someone who had met her scant hours previously.

Eliza pursed her lips. “I’m not here for you.”

It took Alexander only a beat to recover. “Of course not. But you’re here _with_ us.” His smile was warmer now, more genuine. Eliza gave him a very small smile of her own. Damn, the man was good. John felt a little spark of jealousy on a couple of fronts. He cleared his throat.

“Um, we should get back to work.”

Alexander whipped away from Eliza, fixing John with his excruciating smile. “Quite right, John. Would you get her started on something? I need to go ruffle some feathers. Eliza, please allow this devilishly handsome, intrepid young news reporter to brief you on our progress.” Alexander pulled John out of his chair, not a mean feat for someone of his stature, and shoved him in Eliza’s direction. Then he winked at both of them, picked up his phones, and started pacing again.

“My name is Alexander Hamilton. I’m with Independence News Station and we’re looking into a story…”

John and Eliza stared at each other for a moment.

“You okay about Lee?” John asked.

Eliza nodded. “Thanks for asking. I’ll probably sleep at my sister’s and have a good cry tonight, but well, for now…”

“We have a news story to tell.” They pulled out their phones. Everything else could wait.

***

The next few hours passed in an absolute whirlwind of activity. Conference calls, passive aggressive messages, rapid-fire e-mails, at least six arguments and even more cups of coffee later and they were minutes from broadcast time.

Aaron Burr stood in the bathroom, staring at the suit he was about to don for his television appearance. He had done this hundreds of times, but never before had he felt this sick with nerves. There was always a rush associated with appearing live before millions of people, but usually it was controlled. He had his script, he had his smile, and he had the certainty that what he was saying was incontestably true. Tonight, all that had been thrown out the window. The last few hours had consisted of Alexander Hamilton causing shockingly effective national discord as he barged in on conversations and talked over people until he got what he wanted. Theodosia had been more subtle, but no less efficient at getting what she needed out of people. Their team was small, less than a third of what he’d been promised, but they had been making miracles happen.

Now it was Burr’s turn to screw everything up.

His fingertips were numb as he changed clothes. A million scenarios played through his head, all involving his disgrace, the shutting down of the station, national outcry. Theodosia’s disappointed face. He slapped the wall, succeeding in nothing but making his hand hurt.

He took a deep breath and smiled into the bathroom mirror before he walked out, adjusting his headset as he did so. The smile was flawless, as usual. As was the suit, the headset, his whole persona. So it was only his heart that was malfunctioning. He could deal with that.

“Aaron, for the love of God, what are you wearing?” Theodosia’s voice hissed into his ear as he walked onto the set. He would be lying if he said it wasn’t comforting. He was very good at lying.

“Shut up. Hire a wardrobe person if you’re so worried. Besides, I doubt the blue suit is what people will be objecting to.”

“I’m objecting to it.” Hamilton’s voice joined Theodosia’s in his ear.

“Theodosia, take Hamilton’s headset away. I would like to concentrate and our brief acquaintance has taught me that your assistant physically does not know how to shut up.”

There was a brief scuffle on the other end of the line. “Done,” Theodosia said, a little out of breath. He didn’t flatter himself that she was really humouring him. She would do anything to get the show running smoothly.

The world was slowing down. After hours of frenetic activity, everything was settling into place. What that place would be and whether Burr would have a job in it remained to be seen. For the moment, he let himself enjoy the anticipation. People thought that it was telling the news that he enjoyed the most. The more cynical thought it was the pay check. It was neither of those things.

What Burr loved was this moment, the stillness before the cameras rolled, the knowledge that in a few seconds, the words that he spoke would change how people saw the world around them. 

It was lucky that Theodosia had gone quiet in his ear, giving him this brief moment. Or maybe it wasn’t luck. She knew him, knew him in that terrifying way that crawled under his skin and flayed him alive, left him raw and missing something. Missing her. Dammit. 

“Ready?” Theodosia’s voice was softer this time. “Before we go—“

Burr glanced at one of the clocks. “We have ninety seconds.”

“Shh. Before we go, I want to make one thing very clear: for the next hour, nothing matters but you and me. Forget everything else. For this hour, you’re in my hands. Trust me, Aaron. You don’t have to the rest of the time. That’s okay. But for the next hour, I’d like you to forget why think you can’t rely on anyone. We’re you’re team, and we’re here. Let yourself be mine.”

Burr was painfully aware that everyone else at the monitors could hear what they were saying. He didn’t understand how she could be so publicly, carelessly intimate. Not after how things had ended. Not with him. 

“We’re on in 10…”

Distracting him, that’s what she was doing. It was working. He brought himself back to what was in front of him. Smoothed down his suit. Waited for the teleprompter to turn on.

It didn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: The Story of Tonight.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron Burr does his job, Theodosia thinks it's hot and more information about the cause of the spill is discovered.

“The teleprompter isn’t on,” Eliza said, slightly breathless.

Theodosia nodded, covering her mouthpiece with one hand. “It’s good for Aaron to remember he can think for himself sometimes. He used to be a genius, you know.” She sighed. “Still is. Just has a habit of forgetting where his heart is.”

Alexander quirked an eyebrow at her. “Oh, I think he knows exactly where it is.” It could have been mocking, but he sounded uncharacteristically serious.

Theodosia didn’t have time to think about that.

“And, we’re live.”

The monitors whirred to life, shining with the familiar, polished opening. A generic voice announced: “Welcome to The Story of Tonight with Aaron Burr.” The graphics cleared to show Aaron’s face. He shuffled his papers deftly and smiled slightly into the camera. The nerves, the confusion, the insecurities that Theodosia knew he was riddled with, all that seemed to melt away when the camera was on him. For someone who generally shied away from grand statements, the spotlight really did love him. As he spoke, his voice fell naturally into a pleasing news reporter cadence.

“Good evening, I’m Aaron Burr. The news tonight: what may be the biggest disaster to hit the Gulf of Mexico since Hurricane Katrina, and the greatest environmental catastrophe to stain our shores since the Exxon Valdez. British Petroleum’s oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, fifty miles from the Louisiana shoreline, exploded shortly after 2 pm Eastern Time. Seven crew members, working on the rig at the time, are in critical condition and have been evacuated to a local hospital. Eleven crew members are still unaccounted for, and there is a search and rescue mission in progress. This story is still developing. First, we’re going to go to Peggy Shippen at the US Coast Guard Base in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Peggy?”

The monitors flipped to a pretty reporter standing in front of the ocean and speaking seriously into the camera. Aaron exhaled slightly, and Theodosia pulled her mic closer to her face.

“So far so good, Aaron. Next, you’re going to go to Rear Admiral Dorothy Tuttle of the US Coast Guard.” Despite her earlier warnings to him and her jokes about their relationship, she had forgotten how intimate this could be. How personal, despite the lights and cameras and crew. She felt like she was right next him, whispering in his ear. She could tell that he felt it too. It was uncomfortable, and she didn’t want to over examine how much she’d missed it. 

The camera went live again, pulling Theodosia back into the professional world. For this section, Aaron’s face had taken on the gravity that so easily balanced out his slow smile. “The missing crew members may only be the tip of the iceberg. Preliminary reports suggest that top personnel at BP are scrambling to cap the well. Three and a half miles below the surface of the water, it is pouring oil into the ocean at a rate of 4.2 million gallons a day…”

Burr seemed like he was reading from a teleprompter, that he was just the neutral conveyor of information, but Theodosia knew that that couldn’t be further from the truth. He knew all those numbers by heart, had been storing them away in his head from the moment Alexander brought them to his attention. Aaron didn’t show that he cared by grandstanding or making bold declarations. This was what he did. He remembered.

Theodosia realised she was smiling and looked away.

After the Coast Guard, it was the man from the Department of Energy. This time, they were going for an interview, and Theodosia watched closely. The first few questions were topical, but too easy to dodge. She could sense that Aaron was going too soft on him. Aaron was getting freaked out by the potential fallout of what they were exposing, and he was starting to pull back. Theodosia couldn’t let that happen.

“Aaron, you have to ask him why there was no contingency plan in place,” she said into his ear, more gently than usual.

For just a moment, his eyes flickered, his laser attention slipping. “Go get him,” She whispered, more to herself than anything. To the millions of people watching, there was no change. But Theodosia could see in his eyes the moment he made the decision.

“Sorry, but can you please explain to me why there was no contingency plan in place for this incredibly predictable disaster? Why build a well that we don’t have the technology to contain when it — and this is inevitable — fails?”

The man was completely thrown. Maybe getting a reputation for playing soft ball does get you somewhere after all. The Department of Energy was not prepared for this line of questioning and when Aaron hit, he hit hard. The Energy guy was left practically incoherent, and Aaron walked all over him for the rest of the interview. When the video feed ended, Theodosia couldn’t contain a small breath of relief. Aaron hadn’t pulled back. They were in position for the real story. Unfortunately, the hardest work hadn’t even started yet.

“Great job, Aaron. We have Halliburton next. This is where it happens. Are you ready?”

He wanted to say no, she could tell. But he didn’t. He smiled at her through the monitor, and it was the real smile, a little shy, a little crooked, and only for her.

***

Alexander, John, and Eliza were grouped around Alexander’s brand new desk, all busy on tangled phone lines. In the past few hours, this had come to seem very natural, and since Theodosia clearly did not want him anywhere near Aaron Burr once the broadcast started, he had gone back behind the scenes to do what he did best: talk people’s ears off until they gave in to what he wanted. It was great fun.

“I know that you would love to have us spending our hour simpering about how our thoughts and prayers are with the missing crew members and their families, and we will have someone say that, but it is, unfortunately for you, not actually news. What is news is that you do not know how to cap the well! That is what we need a statement on. You have, oh, twenty-five minutes to give us some answers and we are broadcasting regardless of whether you get your shit together on time.” He hung up. “Eliza? Will you write out that statement about the sympathies?”

She pulled back a little from her position practically leaning on his shoulder. “Okay.” But her eyes narrowed a little as she looked between Alexander and John. Oh.

“Not because you’re a woman, Eliza. Because, and correct me if I’m wrong, you’re the only one among us who is functional with sincere empathy and human emotions and such.”

“I’m sure John—“

“Eliza, John’s desk has a picture of a pet turtle instead of any friends or family. I think we can go on that.”

“Thanks.” John said drily, but he didn’t seem offended. Alexander shot him a smile before moving on.  
“Right. Back to the phones.” Moments later, all three were back to talking quickly at overwhelmed spokespeople and occasionally swapping notes or running something into the studio.

***

Aaron Burr was actually, genuinely annoyed with this man. The Halliburton spokesman reeked of smug wealth and piles of legal documents that would whisk him away from any scandal. The man, Thomas Conway, had begun the interview insufferably relaxed for a man whose company had just caused devastation for the entire United States of America. Now, with unusual pressure from Burr, he was starting to get defensive.

“We are gathering due diligence—“

“Mister Conway, the time for diligence has already passed.”

“Are you implying that—“ Burr had a momentary flashback to three weeks earlier. That time, he had been avoiding just the sniping in which he was now engaging. It seemed as if there was nothing he could do to avoid being hit. Then Theodosia’s voice was back in his ear, and it didn’t matter so much.

“Remember Seal 2000.”

He remembered. “Mr. Conway, your company was hired to provide Zone Seal 2000 and CR 100, a synthetic type of cement that is meant to seal off the well. Is that true?”

“Yes. Our product is of the highest quality and—“

“Really?” Burr wasn’t shouting. He was very good at not shouting. It was something his network preened themselves on. It made it sound more like he was truly listening to the people he interviewed and having a respectful debate. This was not a debate, however. 

This was a reckoning.

“So, you did tests on your materials before installing them at the Deep Water Horizon well. Is that correct?”

“Of course we did tests! Exhaustive ones, on all of our products.”

Burr pretended to back off. He had Conway cornered. “Excellent. So you have the results of these exhaustive tests, then.”

There was panic building at the corners of Conway’s eyes. “Look, now you’re nitpicking. I’m sure your audiences don’t want to read all our charts on minute concrete adjustments. What we should be talking about is the hardship being felt by the families of the crew members, and here at Halliburton…”

 

“Don’t you dare let him go,” Theodosia practically growled into his ear. Like there was a chance in hell of that. Aaron could see the prize.

“No, you’re the spokesperson for Halliburton. Halliburton, not Hallmark. I’m looking for numbers, not platitudes, and I would thank you not to condescend to the American people.”

“Look here.” Clinton was visibly sweating. “Everything is happening very quickly. We don’t have all these things at our fingertips.”

Got him. “You mean you don’t have your test results at your fingertips? Where exactly are they? Halliburton has claimed to be a transparent organisation. Where are your numbers?”

***

Watching Aaron tear this Halliburton guy apart was about the sexiest thing Theodosia had seen in a long time. Unfortunately, there was work to be done.

A fact that was embodied by Alexander, Eliza and John tumbling as quietly as possible through the door. Alexander jerked his head wildly back outside, and she got the message. Outside the studio, she could still crane her neck to look through the glass and see what was going on. Not that she was worried. Aaron’s smooth voice was still rolling through her headset, but she muted her own microphone.

“So, what has the newly-formed three-headed dragon discovered this time?” John and Eliza smiled, perhaps blushing a little, but Alexander was wasting no time on pleasantries.

“We’ve got it. Or, well, Eliza got it, but we called a lot of people too. Eliza?”

The young woman closed her eyes for a brief second before launching into her explanation. “I contacted the Mineral Management Service. They have 56 inspectors who are supposed to oversee 35000 active wells.” She paused for a moment, eyes glittering. It was hard to believe that this was the same young woman who had been so worried about what her father thought of her boyfriend that morning. Next to her, Alexander was bouncing up and down, looking almost absurdly proud and excited. The news itself, however, was horrifying.

“That’s impossible,” Theodosia breathed. “They should never have been allowed to get away with that few inspectors.”

“There’s more.” Eliza brushed a strand of hair out of her face and plunged back in. “Inspections are required monthly, but the wells were only inspected six times in the last year and nine the year before that. The last inspection was done twenty days ago by Eric Neil, who was sent alone despite having just started his training.”

“Oh my God. If we could get him on the phone…”

“He’s there! On hold.” Alexander could not contain himself any longer. “We’ve got this, Theodosia.”

“Theo, I’m on again in thirty seconds. What the hell am I saying?” Aaron’s voice in her ear was edged just slightly with panic. If they were too late, he would be the one looking like an idiot on national television. 

She flipped her mic on. “15 seconds and I’ll tell you. Trust me.”

“Always.” There was an awkward silence that Theodosia felt could have lasted hours, but Aaron managed to get back on track. “Shit. Sorry. What am I saying?”

She gave him a lightning fast rundown of his imminent interview with Eric Neil, shoving everything else out of her mind. There would be time for that tomorrow. Tonight, they had a show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: everything wraps. well, maybe not everything.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of the night. The beginning of everything else.

“Welcome back to The Story of Tonight. If you’re just tuning in, the oil rig BP Deep Water Horizon has exploded into flames fifty miles off the coast of Louisiana, leaving eleven crew members missing and potentially dead. We’re here with Eric Neil of the Minerals Management Service. Thank you for joining us, Mr. Neil.”

The voice that crackled through the phone line sounded very young and very scared. “Hello, sir. It’s good to—thank you—“

“Can you confirm that the MMS employs 56 inspectors in the Gulf region?”

“I—uh—that sounds right, sir.”

“And those 56 inspectors oversee 35,591 wells?”

“Um, yes.”

“That’s 635 wells per inspector. The wells are required to be inspected once a month. With those numbers…is it actually possible to properly inspect each well on time, Mr. Neil?”

There was an exceedingly awkward pause. “The budget is small, sir.” He said, in a voice that was also very small. Burr felt badly for the kid, but that didn’t matter. There were greater injustices at work, and for the first time in a long while, Burr felt like he was actually doing something. 

“Not to make this sound like a middle school math problem, but in order to accomplish all the inspections, each inspector would need to inspect two wells a day, six days a week, for the entire year.”

“I know.” Neil’s voice was weighed down with defeat. 

“This is obviously a problem, but there seems to be a solution as well.” They hadn’t talked about this. They hadn’t had time. But either Burr had discovered his long-lost moral compass or he’d gone insane. He wasn’t entirely sure those were different things. Either way, he had an idea. ‘It seems to me that all this could be done a lot more efficiently if the oil companies themselves paid for proper inspections, just as private homeowners have to.”

You could hear a pin drop in the studio.

“Well, it’s not exactly my division.” Neil sounded as if he was about to cry. Burr saw Alexander hold up a whiteboard that said:

“The statement from BP is in.”

Burr couldn’t worry about that yet. He had to pound this poor kid into the ground in the hopes that the people whose fault this was might suffer a nick to their reputations. Such was the game. “Mr. Neil, you were sent to inspect this Deep Water Horizon well nineteen days ago. Is that correct?”

“Um, yes.” Neil sounded for all the world that he wished that his answer was no.

“Are you aware that since 2001, Deep Water Horizon has shown five red flags of negligence or non-compliance?”

“That’s, uh, not really my area. Sir.”

“Okay. We’re almost done. Prior to this Deep Water inspection, how many such drilling inspections had you done?”

The pause seemed to last an eternity. “None. Well, training,” he added, lamely. Burr could practically feel the nation draw breath. They were all waiting. Waiting on him. This time, for once in his life, he didn’t hesitate.

“How long have you been in training?”

“Four months.”

There was no need to say anything more. The American public, as dense as they could often be, would connect the dots on that one. “Thank you very much. We appreciate you talking with us. That was Eric Neil, everybody. And now we have a statement from BP. We will put it on the screen for you. ‘The thoughts and prayers…” He had to clear his throat. Burr could feel his smile getting more feral, but he didn’t care. This was absurd. They were absurd, and everybody should see it. “ ‘The thoughts and prayers of George King and everyone at BP Deepwater Horizon are with the missing crew members and their families. We are looking into the problem of capping the well and will of course provide our complete assistance to the US agencies involved in cleaning up the damage done by this terrible accident.’” He paused, let the hypocrisy and blatant impotence of BP soak in. Then he smiled his most dangerously neutral smile. “It’s _very responsible_ of them to offer to clean up after themselves. Tomorrow, there will be more developments, but for now, I’m Aaron Burr and this was The Story of Tonight. Good night.” 

The cameras went dark just as the studio burst into spontaneous applause. Someone who was almost definitely Alexander Hamilton shouted, “Nice balls, Burr!” Burr didn’t care. He stood up quickly and exited the studio. 

He barely made it to the toilet before he started retching. It was a good thing he hadn’t really eaten that day. Still.

He gave himself only a few moments at the mirror to make sure there was no evidence before he hurried back to the studio. Sure enough, George Washington was waiting for him.

One look from the man, and Burr was certain he knew exactly what had just happened. He tried not to let it bother him. Instead, he asked “Have the White House called yet?”

Washington nodded shortly. “Adams wants to know where you got your sources.”

Burr glanced at Hamilton, sighed to himself. “We can’t give up our guy.” Hamilton was a pain in the ass, but Burr had the idea that he would be a hell of a lot worse from the other side. Washington seemed to agree. He too looked over at Hamilton and almost seemed to smile. Burr was certain he had never looked at him like that. He pushed the thought away.

Washington wasn’t smiling at him, but perhaps his expression was not as severe as usual either. “No, we can’t. You did well tonight, Burr. You stuck to your guns. That’s all I ask.”

“Is it really.” Burr deadpanned.

Washington gave him a look. “When it comes down to it. Yes. I know we don’t see eye to eye, but that’s just fine. You’re the man for your job. Just go out there and do it. Do it with Theodosia and Hamilton and we just might win the war.”

“The war.”

“The war on lies. The war on ignorance, on stupidity, on not sticking your neck out and having an opinion.”

“Sounds an awful lot like a War on Terror, sir.”

“Maybe, but we don’t need guns. Good night, Burr. I’ll see you tomorrow.” And just like that, Washington was gone. Burr knew his boss would never really like him, but if he liked what he was doing and he let Burr step in front of those cameras every night, then it just might be worth it. Burr put his head in his hands, ready to sleep for a week.

“That was amazing.”

It was Hamilton at his elbow. Of course it was. “Thank you,” he said, trying to end the conversation. 

“No, it really was. You’re good. I kind of thought you were all smiles and a pretty face, but…you know your shit.” Did Hamilton just say he was pretty?

“I know you want my job.”

“What?”

“Come on, Hamilton. You’re ambitious. Everyone can see it. You want to be in my chair.”

Hamilton took a moment before he responded. “No. No, actually, I don’t. Maybe I thought I did at one point, but not really. I love this job. I love getting the information, forcing people to tell the truth about all the shitty things they’ve done, and sure I want to tell the nation about it. But they won’t listen to me. They’ll listen to you and your goddamn smile. That’s okay. Just…say things worth hearing, okay? I think we could be a pretty good team.” Alexander stuck out his hand, and Burr thought that his smile wasn’t half-bad either. They shook. Burr still thought they would probably have several arguments a day, but that wouldn’t be all bad. They were on the same side.

***

Eliza and John were packing up and talking quietly when Alexander walked back into the newsroom. They turned when they heard him coming, smiling broadly.

“We did it.” Alexander said, and he knew his voice lacked some of its usual bravado. Sometimes relief was the best feeling in the world.

“Fuck yes. That’s what I’m talking about.” John Laurens said with vehemence, giving Alexander a high five. “Fuck yes we did.”

“Great teamwork,” Eliza added, her dark eyes shining in that way that made her whole face light up despite the tired lines and dark circles.

“I’d say. Hey, you guys want to come out for drinks tonight?” Alexander asked, letting his voice drop out of work mode just a little.

John gave another enthusiastic ‘fuck yeah’, but Eliza hesitated. “Thanks for the offer, but not tonight. I’m going over to my sister’s and I was going to maybe meet my parents too.” She looked a little anxious.

“A story for another night, then, Elizabeth Schuyler.”

“You’re hilarious,” she said drily.

“I know,” and his hand brushed hers ever so slightly, as if it could have accidental. It wasn’t. “Have a good time with your family. John? You still on for drinks? Or do you have a hot date with your turtle?”

***

Eliza made it all the way to the hallway before she started crying. It was one of those cries that was frustrating because she wasn’t really sure why she was even doing it. I mean, sure, she had broken up with her boyfriend, been promoted incredibly quickly, played an integral part in a major and potentially catastrophic news story, and met Alexander Hamilton, but only one of those things was even a little worth crying over. She didn’t even want to give Charles that much credit.

“Eliza?”

It was Theodosia, walking the other way down the hallway. “I’m fine. I don’t know why I’m crying. Nothing’s wrong.”

That didn’t stop Theodosia from wrapping her in a warm hug. “You did amazing today,” she whispered in her ear. “Amazing. And you’ll do even better tomorrow.”

“Thank you. Thank you for everything,” she managed.

“It was nothing. The story was in your hands the entire time, and look what you did. Look what we all did.” They pulled apart, looking, through slightly blurry vision in Eliza’s case, at the television a few feet away which was replaying Burr’s news story. The other stations were scrambling to catch up and get their hands on second-hand quotes. Eliza smiled.

“What a time to be alive.”

“The best time. Here. You might need this.” Theodosia rummaged in her purse for a second and then pressed something into Eliza’s hand before continuing on down the hall, giving her shoulder a final squeeze as she passed.

Eliza looked down at what was in her hand, curious. It was a coupon for Ben&Jerry’s. It expired tomorrow. She laughed, pulling out her phone to text Angelica the code for ‘cancel all plans, tell Father I’m sick and gather the sisters’.

It was going to be okay. 

It was going to be more than okay. It was going to be amazing.

***

“Aaron, can I talk to you for a second?” Theodosia watched Burr pack his things slightly frantically.

“Nope. Your hour’s up,” he said, trying to brush her off.

“I forgot what a stickler for rules you are. Just for a couple minutes. I forgot. You did so well tonight.”

“It won’t hurt the people it should. Poor Eric Neil will have the wrath of God rained down upon him while King and company will get a few days, maybe weeks of bad press. It won’t make a difference.”

“You wouldn’t be doing this if you really thought that.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” She looked him straight in the eye when she said it. “Do you remember the first time we met? It was at a women’s rights conference and you were sort of skulking in the back, trying not to make yourself too noticeable.” She smiled wryly. “As if believing that women are people too might make you biased in your reporting. Anyway, there you were at the back when some guy started talking to me and he kept going on about how he supported women’s rights because obviously he was at this conference, but shouldn’t we be working on more practical legislature. How women were so much more equal than they used to be, so really, what was the point?” She stepped nearer to him, moving as if drawn on an invisible string. Fate, or something else she didn’t believe in. She found herself smiling.

“And then you came up like you’d been summoned or something and you started laying into him, all quiet and sincere. And you know what you said? You said that there were things that were more important than being a realist, that there were causes worth defending even if you never saw the fruits of your labour, that there were some things that were just right, and it wasn’t political, it was just humanity trying to be just a little bit good. And then you just walked away from that guy like you hadn’t done anything.”

They were standing very close together now. Theodosia remembered the feeling of him speaking into her ear earlier that night. They were that close, but this time it was real. No electronics. “And you followed me,” he whispered, his voice hoarse, not from the show.

“I did more than that.” She didn’t know what she was saying, but she didn’t stop. “I fell in love with you that night.”

He flinched, and it felt like a punch to the gut. “You doomed us.” But he didn’t move away.

“Not yet. We have time again. We’re going to change the world.” She took his hand, and she knew he would pull away, but he let her hold on for just a second, and it was enough.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

He was almost at the door when he turned around. “The reason I freaked out at that college student. It wasn’t medicine or whatever. I thought I saw you. But…” He left it hanging, turning to go.

“Aaron!” She tried to call after him, but he didn’t hear or didn’t listen. She took a deep breath. It was okay. They had tomorrow. And the day after. 

There was time to explain, time to show him the hand-written posters at the back of her notepad that had prompted his wild, glorious speech. Time to apologise for the pain she had caused him and time to cause each other new pain. Time to watch Alexander and John and Eliza grow even more able in their positions. Time to fix the world and maybe even Aaron Burr. 

There would be many stories and many nights. This was only the first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are at the end of another fic. 
> 
> Thank you so much to those who left kudos or comments or subscribed to my work. To everyone else, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the journey.
> 
> There will probably be somewhat of a break before I start posting Hamilton fic again, but I'm currently working on a substantial (maybe up to 50K?) Modern Road Trip AU featuring Eliza and the squad and told from Eliza's perspective. I'm really excited about this project, and feel free to drop me a line here or on tumblr to talk about it. 
> 
> In the meantime, I may try to post a couple of one-shots, and I would be open to prompts.
> 
> Thank you again for all your kind words and support. It genuinely helps my terrible laziness when it comes to doing the final pre-post edit.
> 
> Until next time!
> 
> josiepug

**Author's Note:**

> Come scream at me on tumblr at ast0ryintheend.tumblr.com (or type daintily with one hand while drinking tea with the other). Whatever floats your boat.


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